Bound to the Flame
by LittleFireDragon
Summary: Sequel to Pokemon Masters of Azeroth. Deathwing breaks free from his prison, tearing both Azeroth and Kanto asunder, revealing an ancient and deep connection between the two worlds, and forcing Ash, Misty, Gary, and friends back into Azeroth, where they are caught up in a war that threatens to consume both worlds. GaryXMisty, mild AshXThisalee.
1. Cataclysm

A loud crash! Ash was literally thrown from the couch, Pikachu going flying with him. "What was that? We never get earthquakes here!"

Screaming. Panic. Ash heard his own mother cry out, "Oh my God, what is that thing?" The young trainer scooped up his pokemon and rushed to the window. He couldn't believe his eyes. Earth elementals ran rampant. He hadn't seen elementals for over a year! Ash grabbed the biggest knife they had in the kitchen and ran outside. His mother called helplessly after him.

Gary was already outside, holding a long, thin tree branch like a staff, fighting off elementals. He couldn't hold them back alone. An elemental punched a building, the corner of which collapsed.

"Gary, what the hell is going on?"

"I don't know any more than you do!" Ash's old rival managed to bash one of the elementals' heads off, and it collapsed into a pile of rubble. The two trainers retreated and stood back to back to keep the elementals off them. Both called out pokemon to help fight off the invaders – Pikachu, bulbasaur, squirtle, and charizard. Absol, umbreon, ninetales, blastoise, and pidgeot. The water turtles were powerful against the rock elementals. Bulbasaur's solar beam cut through stone like a hot knife through butter. Absol and umbreon simply bit and clawed their way to victory. Charizard crushed elementals under its tail. Ninetales melted rock with its superhot flames. Pidgeot dove down on the elementals and crushed their heads in its talons. The trainers fought as best they could with their impromptu weapons.

"A little help here?" Ash called out to the other residents of Pallet Town, who were cowering in fear. A few of them stepped forward and called out pokemon. Someone's dewgong used an ice beam that shattered an elemental. Another building's corner collapsed. The shaking was slowing down, though. An elemental got past Ash's defenses and with a single punch it sent him flying. He slammed into a wall, but got up and continued fighting.

Mr. Mime came out and started beating elementals senseless. Delia joined in with a broom.

"_Now _do you believe us?" Gary asked over his shoulder as he smacked at another elemental.

"Y-yes!" Ash's mother stammered through her terror.

Ash was able to jam the knife into a crack in an earth elemental's body and it crumbled. "I wish I had my swords," he muttered. He stumbled as a crack in the ground opened up with a great shudder and lurch.

An elemental managed to hit Gary. He was sent sprawling across the ground. It tried to slam its fist into him a second time but his pidgeot tackled it out of the way. "Damn it all! I wish I had my magic! I'm no good in melee!"

More trainers joined the fight. The number of elementals steadily decreased. The shaking stopped. When the conflict was finally over, the trainers and their pokemon stood, breathing hard, bruised and bleeding, over the piles of rubble.

"Ash, go to Cerulean and _find Misty,_" Gary ordered.

"What about you?" Ash asked, already getting onto the charizard.

"I'm going to investigate the rifts to the east. I have a feeling this whole thing has to do with Azeroth – something huge has happened there. I suspect we're going to have to go back, and when we do, we'll need a healer. Now go! We don't know how long it'll be before another wave of elementals shows up!"

Ash nodded and the charizard took flight.

XXX

Cerulean City was ablaze. "Vaporeon, hydro pump!" Misty commanded. The ground had split right through the middle of the city. Fire and magma within the new chasm burned everything around it, and it hadn't taken long for the entire city to catch fire. Misty's sisters commanded water pokemon left and right, frantically trying to weaken the flames. Rock and ground types tried desperately to close the lava rift.

A gyarados spat water at a burning building. The flames hissed and died, leaving a massive ball of smoke in their wake. Other trainers did their best to stop the fires. Water and ice pokemon were everywhere, even a few flying types trying in vain to beat out the flames with their wings. Someone called out "Pokemon center's put out!" _Good,_ Misty thought, _we're getting somewhere._

Misty coughed violently and nearly dropped the bucket of water she was carrying – the smoke was suffocating her and it burned her eyes. Her commands to her pokemon were broken up by fits of choking. She was getting desperate. "Horsea, bubblebeam!" At this point, _anything_ helped. The heat was nearly unbearable, the air thick with smoke and fire.

One of the pokemon, probably owned by one of Misty's sisters, used rain dance. Water poured down from the heavens to help put the fires out, but to no avail. Misty threw water at a flame. It nearly went out, and vaporeon splashed it a second time. "The gym's out!" Misty barely managed to call over her shoulder before collapsing in a fit of coughing. She couldn't see anything through the smoke. She could hardly breathe. She felt like she was about to pass out. _No, not now! Cerulean needs me! Not now!_

Powerful wings flapped above her, beating the smoke away. A charizard thudded down next to her. "You okay, Misty?" a familiar voice called out.

"Ash, thank God you're here!" Misty gasped for air. Her lungs were burning. It wasn't long before the smoke closed in again. "Hurry, the fires are almost out!" the water trainer urged, her voice rough and broken from the smoke.

"Diana's house is out!" someone called through the smoke. People coughed all around. A child was crying. Fires crackled. Ash covered his mouth with his arm to keep from choking as he called out his squirtle.

"Milotic, hydro pu-!" one of Misty's sisters shouted, interrupting herself with a fit of coughing.

Misty herself called out, having put out the flames on another building, but nobody could make out what she said.

"Misty, where are you?" Ash shouted. He couldn't see her through the curtain of smoke, but it was beginning to clear. He could at least see figures moving about, throwing bucketfuls of water on flames. "Charizard," he managed to choke out, "clear the air!" The pokemon obeyed and flew up above the smoking city, flapping its wings to push the smoke away. The people of Cerulean could breathe again, they could see! The town was charred and small fires smoldered here and there. It didn't take long to put the rest of them out.

Misty collapsed against the side of the gym, trembling and gasping for air. "Ash, do you have any idea what's going on?" she asked, very confused.

"Pallet Town was overrun by elementals – Gary and I think Azeroth is involved."

"Azeroth? But Malygos is-"

"Dead, I know. I don't think this was the work of a dragon. Gary's investigating the portals as we speak. I'm sure he'll know what's going on. Come on, he's waiting for us." He climbed onto the charizard, and Misty followed.

"Where are you going?" one of her sisters asked.

"It's a long story!" Misty answered. With that, the charizard took flight.

XXX

The charizard flew over the forests near Pallet Town.

"There," Misty said, pointing. Sure enough, she'd spotted Gary. Ash directed the pokemon to the ground next to him, and dismounted. Misty hopped off and walked over to where Gary was kneeling. Ash recalled the pokemon.

"Misty," Gary said with a smile, "good to see you again. I've missed you." He stood up.

"I've missed you too," she replied. He kissed her cheek.

"Alright, so, I've come to the conclusion that these portals do _not_ go to Azeroth." Ash gave his old rival an odd look. Gary continued, "Instead, they go to the Elemental Planes under it."

"So… they're from inside Azeroth," Misty said, not quite understanding.

Gary shook his head. "No, when you're talking about planes of existence, _under_ a world is different than _inside_ a world. But where it is doesn't matter. The point is, Azeroth's Elemental Planes have just suffered a great upheaval – a war, a traumatic event, something like that. Why the Elemental Planes of _Azeroth_ would affect _Kanto_ I don't know, but they have. Johto has probably also been impacted. I suspect that there may be a greater connection between our world and Azeroth that we realized – it would certainly explain why Malygos's rifts tore into our world."

"So, what are we gonna do about it?" Ash asked, leaning against a tree.

"Well, whatever caused this upheaval is probably going to be found in Azeroth – something breaking out of the Elemental Planes and into Azeroth would be likely to cause a… cataclysm, like this."

"Then we'll have to go back to Azeroth to find out what's going on," Misty said.

"And then, if we can, solve it, which may require going to the Elemental Planes," Gary added.

"Wait, why solve it? We've put out the fires and killed the elementals," Ash said, "Why don't we just repair our towns and call it good?"

Gary looked at him as though he were an idiot. "_Do you know __**anything **__about elementals?_ You can't _kill_ an elemental outside of the Elemental Planes, you can only send it back! And as long as the elements are at unrest, they will continue to pour through the rifts and terrorize our world – and likely Azeroth as well!"

"Oh. Right. Well..." Ash decided to shut up.

"Gary, how will we get back to Azeroth if these portals don't lead there?"

"Well, we have two options. First, we could enter through these portals and hope that there's a portal from the Elemental Planes out into Azeroth, which is unlikely, or that I could conjure one up, which is also unlikely. Second, we could try to locate the Ley Lines of Kanto and I could… well, I could _try_ to open a portal. I don't know how much magic I can pull off out here."

"I have an idea," Ash said. He looked at Misty. "_Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice, or lightning._"

"Shamouti Island…" Misty muttered.

Gary got it at that point. He'd watched the news – for once – on that day when the balance was broken. "My God!" He exclaimed. "_Ash, you're a genius! _I never thought I'd say those words. _Those islands – the Ley Lines surround them! Shamouti Island is a Nexus!_" Gary grinned broadly. "If we can get to Shamouti Island I should be able to warp the Ley Lines with a series of rune circles and if I set them up according to Surian Theory, then maybe I can open a portal to Azeroth!"

Ash just nodded. "I have no idea what you just said, Gary, but it sounds like a plan."


	2. Shamouti

"_Reports are flooding in from across Kanto and Johto of earthquakes, fires, floods, and landslides. Only a handful of cities have not been hit by these mysterious natural disasters. There is no explanation as of yet, but a small cult has mobilized across the region, proclaiming 'doomsday' for-_" Brock switched the television off. He didn't need to hear any more. The gym leader briskly headed for the nearest pokemon center and contacted Professor Oak.

He caught the Professor off guard. "Brock? Why, hello there. Is everything alright?"

"More or less. There's been a landslide here; plenty of structural damage, but nobody's hurt. My pokemon are helping to clean up the mess. I'm glad to see you're safe and sound – is Ash okay?"

"One moment." The Professor walked offscreen. Brock heard him faintly shout "Ash! You and your friends are wanted at the Screen!" A few moments later, he returned, with Ash, Misty, and Gary following him. Brock sighed in relief.

"Good, I was worried about you. I saw on the news that this was affecting the whole region and the first thing I wanted to do was make sure you were okay."

"We're fine," Ash said.

"What about Pewter City, is everything okay there?" Misty asked.

"Structural damage from a landslide, but no injuries."

Gary spoke up. "It's a good thing you caught us when you did. We were about to leave."

"Leave?" Brock asked. "With all this going on? Where could you possibly be headed?"

"Shamouti Island," Ash answered.

"That, again?" Brock remembered the last time natural phenomena went haywire all too clearly.

"No, this time it's totally unrelated," Misty said, shaking her head. "We have our own reasons to go to Shamouti Island."

Gary nodded. "That's right. Shamouti Island, we believe, is a Nexus of ma-" He stopped mid-sentence. "Err… Well, it's a long story."

"I have time," Brock replied. "I don't want to be left in the dark about what's going on this time."

"I don't even think you'd believe us," Ash muttered.

"Granted," Professor Oak said, "it is a rather far fetched tale. But at this point, after the crazy things we've seen, I think your friend Brock will be willing to believe anything. I certainly am."

"Okay, this isn't going to seem related at first, but just bear with me, and I know it'll sound crazy, but just listen," Gary began. The three of them retold a shorter version of their story in Azeroth. Brock listened attentively, never once speaking up to question his younger friends.

"So what we think is going on," Misty concluded, "is that the Elemental Planes of fire, water, earth, and air have somehow been disrupted. With the elements unstable, the normal world is being torn apart at the foundation."

"And in order to determine exactly what the problem is, you need to return to Azeroth, right?" Brock asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Precisely," Gary said. "The thing is, Kanto never had a Well of Eternity. The Ley Lines that are a natural part of all worlds are too weak here for spellcasting. Only at a Nexus – where multiple Ley Lines meet – would I be able to cast a spell – including the opening of a portal." He paused, then added, "And even then, it would be difficult, and I'd have very little control over it."

"We think Shamouti Island is a Nexus," Ash concluded.

Brock nodded slowly. It was a lot to take in, but he trusted them. After a moment, he asked, "Can I help?"

Ash, Misty, and Gary looked at one another. "Um," Ash said, "I… guess so? I'm not sure what you could do – it'll be mostly up to Gary to open the portal, since Misty and I aren't mages, but if you want to come with us…"

"You said the four elements are out of balance. Maybe I can help with the element of earth."

"I don't see why not," Misty answered.

"Alright. Meet us here in Pallet Town. Then we're off to Shamouti Island," Gary said.

XXX

The trainers were about to leave for Shamouti. Charizard and pidgeot were stretching their wings, when familiar voices spoke up.

"Prepare for trouble..."

"And make it double!"

Ash looked incredulously over his shoulder. "You've _got _to be kidding me."

Team Rocket was not joking. They had, however, shortened their motto, because they left it at that. "You twerps aren't going anywhere until you hand over that Pikachu," Jessie said, folding her arms over her chest.

"Now is a really bad time, guys," Gary said. "I have a portal to open and an Elemental Plane to balance. Possibly also a world to save."

"Let's just leave," Misty said. She was sitting on the pidgeot's back, behind Gary. "We're already on flying pokemon, it's not like they could stop us." Gary silently agreed and with a gentle shove, cued the bird pokemon to take off. It spread its wings, but paused as the Rockets continued.

"No, wait!" Meowth cried out. "You said portal?" James shook his head at the bad memories. The first time he'd fallen through a portal was traumatic enough.

"Are you going to help us?" Brock asked. "If not, we're just going to leave."

"You're going back to Azeroth?" James asked. He and Jessie finally made the connection. "Is that what all this is about? The disasters?"

"I think so, yes. There were earth elementals in Pallet Town so I'd say it's fairly likely that Azeroth is somehow involved," Gary said.

The members of Team Rocket looked at one another, nodded, and looked back at the younger trainers. "Count us in."

XXX

Hours passed. The sun started to fall in the sky as an increasingly elaborate series of circles, polygons, lines, and runes formed around Gary. Practically in a trance, he turned this way and that as he used a long stick to add to the shapes in the dirt, stepping lightly and carefully, yet swiftly, around the lines he'd already drawn. It was almost like he was performing some sort of graceful dance. The whole rune circle was at least 12 feet across. Just as the sunset was at its most spectacular, he finished.

"So, Gary. How does this work anyway?" Ash asked, being careful to not step on any of the lines.

Gary was exhausted from hours of runework. He collapsed against a rock. After a moment's rest, he explained. "It's fairly simple, actually. Runes are shapes based on Nexuses of Ley Lines with particular traits. It is the flow of arcane energy in those regions that give them their magical properties. By mimicking this pattern with a rune, we can warp the Ley Lines into imitations of the originals, thus producing the same effects. Combining runes give a more complicated effect. Still more advanced results can be achieved by guiding arcane energy from one rune to the next along specific paths, as I've drawn with the shapes. The thing about rune magic is that the runes are so basic – to do most anything with them, you've got to use a giant circle like this one. Unless you just want basic effects, like with James's runeblade. Of course, I'm not sure if this will even work. I don't know if Kanto shares a similar Ley pattern with Azeroth, or even if that matters. Even if it doesn't work, there may be a strong enough Nexus here naturally that I can manage a portal, but it'll be difficult."

Ash stared at him blankly. After a moment, Gary said "Look, I can't make it any simpler than that." He looked irritated.

"Where will this portal take us, anyway?" Ash asked, deciding not to dwell on Gary's magi-babble.

"I don't know."

"You're making a portal, and you don't even know where it's taking us?" Ash asked, incredulous.

"Ash, I'm opening this portal _across __**worlds**__ here._ If _you_ think you can aim better across that sort of distance, _go right ahead,_" Gary snapped.

"Stop bickering," Misty said.

"Now, everybody get off the rune circle," Gary said, getting up and returning to the center of the circle. "You might scuff a rune with your foot, and then I'll end up summoning Ragnaros or something. Besides, you're interfering with the flow of arcane energy." He started channeling a spell – it did appear to be working, as his hands started glowing.

The others simply stood back and watched. Finally, a great circle appeared, and within it lay a strange landscape. Distinctly Azerothean creatures wandered the other side.

"Hurry, now. Everybody through."


	3. Stone Shamanism

The trainers arrived in Azeroth. They were in the middle of a barren, cliff-covered wasteland. Not too far away, there was a giant, smoking gash in the ground – proof that this land had also been hit. The soil was red, and only small plants grew nearby. The few trees were thick, with few leaves. The moon was high in the star-covered sky.

"Where are we?" Jessie asked.

"No idea," Gary said. He pointed to a town atop a cliff. "Goblin architecture. Let's head over there." The others followed his suggestion and hiked up the trail to the village atop the cliff. A sign hung nearby, proclaiming the town's name to be Fuselight.

"We should buy some supplies and armor to last us until we can get to Ironforge to recover our own – plus, Brock will probably need some armor and wea- wait. What class of adventurer is he going to be?" Misty said.

Brock looked at her blankly. In general, Brock looked confused, and had ever since they'd arrived at Shamouti Island.

"He's going to have to be whatever we can get him trained as – preferably not a warlock, mage, warrior, or paladin. Though we can teach him ourselves if we have to," James said.

"Yeah, it's best dat we don't have redundant classes – it was bad enough wit Gary an' Zaraia, and dey were totally different kinds of mages!" Meowth added.

Ash pointed at a silhouette sitting at the cliff's edge – a tauren woman. The trainers approached her. She was clad in a leather robe only slightly darker than her tan fur. "A tauren shaman," Ash said, "perfect!"

The woman turned to look at them, and did a double take. Granted, their outfits were rather odd for Azerotheans to behold. "May I help you?" she asked.

"I know it's kind of out-of-the-blue, but we have a friend here who desperately needs to be trained in the art of adventuring. Shamanism would be a good path for him, I think. Would you be willing to train him? We'll pay you for your time," Misty offered.

"What are your names, travelers? And which one of you requires training?" The tauren woman got up and brushed the dust from her robes. They introduced themselves. Brock stepped forward last. Imitating some of the others, he bowed awkwardly to the tauren woman. For someone who had never seen goblins, tauren, or any other Azerothean race, he was coping fairly well. "My name is Brock Harrison. A… pleasure to meet you."

"May the Eternal Sun shine upon thee, Brock. I am Hashana Stonehoof, shaman of the Earthen Ring. I suppose it is you who requires training?" Brock nodded. Hashana smiled kindly. "Well… How much do you know about shamanism, Brock?"

"Nothing…"

Hashana frowned. "Well, given a few days, let's see what I can do about that."

"Thank you very much, Hashana," Misty said.

"Now then, let's find an armorer and an inn," Gary said.

XXX

The next morning, Ash got up before the others. The sun was just rising. To his surprise, Brock was already up and dressed in the deerskin jerkin and kilt Hashana had helped him to select from the leatherworks, explaining that it was traditional shaman garb. He was sitting on a colorful rug, cross-legged, facing Hashana as she explained to him the basics of shamanism.

"How's it going?" Ash asked.

"This is fascinating," Brock said, genuinely captivated by the tauren's legends, spiritual views, and elemental explanations.

Hashana smiled at Ash. "Your friend takes well to shaman philosophy. He seems to be particularly attuned to the element of earth."

"Somehow that isn't very surprising," Ash replied with a grin.

The others began to get up, one by one. Gary was the last to rise, for once. He was still exhausted from the effort of portal creation, as evidenced by faint shadows under his eyes. He had to be reminded that he could conjure up a breakfast for them. After they ate, they all changed into their new gear. It was low-end and cheap, but it was all they could get. Thankfully, they had not spent _all_ their gold in Dalaran the previous year, but had tucked some of it away in the plane of storage.

Ash, Misty, and James were wearing basic plate. Jessie had a black robe, and Gary a blood red tunic and brown pants. In addition to this, Misty was wearing a necklace the armorer had given her upon finding out she was a paladin – "Where's your necklace, love? Don't you have one? Every paladin these days needs one!" she had said. It was a long, thin, flat piece of metal hung around her neck with a chain. Three runes graced it.

"Alright den," Meowth said, "Let's figure out what's goin' on."

They asked a goblin by the name of Dolph. His reaction alone told them the nature of what was going on.

"You kids been stranded on outland or somethin'?"

"Uh, something like that," Misty answered.

"Deathwing's back!" A murmur of shock and horror ran through the adventuring party. "Broke outta Deepholm and _boom, _angry elementals and natural disasters everywhere – what's worse, he started flying around and destroying things. Left a big ol' scar in the land not too far from here."

Ash looked at Misty. "What I said about not thinking this had anything to do with a dragon… I retract that statement."

"Look, right now Deathwing doesn't matter. He flew off. The most immediate threat to Fuselight is, without argument, the colony of ogres to the northwest. Most of our ogre neighbors used to be warrior-types, but it seems that more and more of them are practicing magic. I won't have an army of ogre-magi at my doorstep. Go take out some of those Dustbelcher ogres. Hopefully they'll get the picture and avoid messing with the might of Fuselight."

As they were about to leave, a female goblin called out to them. "Hey, you kids! Could you lend a hand?"

"Sure, what do you need?" Ash asked.

"I just can't get my invention to work! So I've decided, I'm going to cheat and use magic. What my invention really needs is a solid piston that's thin enough to fit through a narrow copper tube, but strong enough to withstand repeated impact without breaking. The magical rods carried by those ogre magi to the north should work perfectly. From what I can tell, only the instructors carry the strong staves. If you're gonna be killin' ogres, could you pick that up for me?"

"Sure. What's your name?" Jessie said.

The goblin gal bent into a barrel of supplies. Her voice rang out above the clanking and clattering. "Name's Garyanne. You can call me Gary."

The human Gary's reaction was priceless. "_No! No, no, no! I will not share my name with a girl! It's not even a gender-neutral name!_" He turned bright red. Ash had to lean against the wall of a building, he was laughing so hard.

"If you don't like it," the goblin said, coming back out with several pieces of scrap metal in her hands, "you can call me Ms. Fleezlebop." She glared at her namesake.

XXX

As they were approaching the ogre lair, Ash suddenly broke into another fit of snickering. "Gary has a girl's name!"

Gary glared at him. "Do you _want_ to be turned into a sheep?"

"But it's _true!_"

"Final warning. Don't bring it up again."

The fighting began. Everyone except Ash had a little trouble getting back into fighting, probably due to some sort of magical disruption that occurred during the Cataclysm. Jessie took back to her magic fairly well, as did Gary, though both had some stumbling points – some of their spells quite simply did not work how they once had. For instance, Gary could cast scorch while moving – a novel new feature, as casting spells that didn't happen instantly usually required the caster to stay still. Misty was a little more confused. The way she interacted with the Light had been disrupted, and it was clear she would need to talk to a paladin trainer to figure out what had changed. She did, however, notice that her necklace's runes glowed as she used her holy magic. James was also having difficulty, largely due to being alive. As a death knight, this got in his way, and he would have to practice to get back to his previous skill level.

XXX

The adventurers returned. Hashana was teaching Brock how to manipulate the elements. As was to be expected, he particularly excelled at rock-type spells, such as earth shock, though he was also getting the hang of fire and lightning. Somewhere along the line, while the others had been away, Hashana had awarded him with a necklace of totems and feathers, which he could use to summon up to four full-sized totems.

"Greetings, travelers," the tauren woman said. "Your friend learns very quickly. He's a natural shaman."

"We can't thank you enough, Hashana," Misty said, handing over some gold coins. The tauren smiled.

"The Earthen Ring is always looking for new members, especially talented ones like Brock. He has almost reached a level where he can go out and fight without my help."

"Well, that's good," Ash said, "because we're going to leave town soon."

"We'll leave you to finish your training while we wrap up our business in Fuselight," Gary added.

XXX

The adventurers handed over the rod to Ms. Fleezlebop. "It's a perfect fit! My goat-puncher is finally finished! Thanks a million, kids."

The humans knew better than to ask. Instead, they simply said goodbye and went back to Dolph to collect their payment for killing the ogres.

"On to other matters," the goblin said. "I have a package that I need delivered. A young lady came by our town not long ago, looking for compressed blasting powder, a tempered mithril bomb casing, and some safety goggles. Naturally, we had plenty of blasting powder and bomb casings to sell her, but the safety goggles were a little harder to find. Long story short, I've got the goggles, but she's already returned to her studies down in Lethlor Ravine. If you're leaving town, would you bring these down to her?"

"Of course," Jessie told him.

Misty went to go find Hashana and Brock. "Brock, we're leaving. Wrap it up."

Brock bowed to Hashana. "Thank you very much for teaching me the ways of the shaman." She returned the gesture. Together, they said "Walk with the Earth Mother". Then, Brock was on his way. Hashana waved at the adventurers as they left.


	4. Kanto Cult

"The end of this world approaches, humans!" A twilight cultist exclaimed, standing on a platform in Viridian City. "Join us if you wish to survive the coming apocalypse! Deathwing bestows upon us the glory of the Forgotten Ones! Lilth vwah, uhn'agth fhssh za!"

She would not have been taken seriously in Kanto, had the cult not brought its twilight drakes with it. People ran and screamed in terror as the dragons devoured nonbelievers.

The cultist cackled madly. "Save yourselves! Submit to our True Masters!"

"Twilight's Hammer? Here?" Wendy cried out.

"How the hell did they get into Kanto?" Rex asked. "Charmeleon, go!"

XXX

The adventuring party found their way to the ravine. It was full of dragons. Black whelps hovered around their nests. Guardian drakes circled high above.

"So many black dragons…" James muttered uneasily.

"Projecting invisibility is a tough thing to do, but I'll try. It's the only way we'll get across the ravine without being attacked," Gary said. He sighed. So much strenuous magic, so quickly. It was wearing him down.

The spell failed just as the heroes got to safety. They were in a small camp. A goblin woman with red hair and a crimson robe flipped through pages of a book. A teenage human boy dressed in dark leather worked at a table, his back turned to the adventurers.

"Ah, you've found me," the goblin woman said, "good." Gary offered the package to her. "That's alright. You may keep the goggles, as they've served their purpose. They brought you to me."

The humans looked at each other. The goblin woman continued.

"My name is Rhea. I am experimenting with black dragons. Specifically, I am interested in how they procreate. My current experiments require plenty of black dragon eggs, which is why I am here in Lethlor Ravine. I'd gather the eggs myself, but I think you'll benefit from helping me out. You will find them along the edges of the ravine. Beware the guardians that circle above - they do not appreciate stolen eggs. Oh, and I need another favor from you. I need you to obtain the bodies of the black dragon whelplings that fly nearby. Slay them, and bring the corpses to me."

"But," Brock protested, "they're just babies…"

Rhea glared at him.

"They're black dragons, Brock," Ash explained, "they're corrupted. It's their leader, Deathwing, that caused the cataclysm." Even so, he didn't like this goblin. Something didn't seem right.

The boy in the back seemed to recognize Ash's voice. He turned to look at him. "Ash? Misty, Gary? Jessie and James?" He started laughing.

"Kai!" Gary was genuinely surprised.

"Long time, no see! What are you doing here?"

"Deathwing's destruction extends beyond Azeroth, I'm afraid."

"I'm sorry. Also, I'm sorry about you having to go out and get those whelps. It's necessary-"

"That's enough, Kai," Rhea said. Kai shut his mouth and got back to work.

The adventurers uneasily headed out to get the goblin her samples. Brock earth shocked a whelp and felt so guilty he couldn't attack it again. He stood back and watched as his friends slaughtered helpless whelplings. Ash in particular disturbed the gym leader, as he almost seemed to enjoy the bloodshed in his berserker fury. Instead, Brock took to gathering the dragon eggs. A furious roar alerted the adventurers that they'd been spotted.

The black drake came down upon them, roaring and spewing fire. Ash fought back, slashing at it and forcing it to step back. Misty holy shocked it, and Gary threw an ice lance that struck it in the face. It collapsed. Ash finished it off with a sword to the throat. It felt like they were killing Kai.

Once they had enough, they brought the whelps and eggs back to Rhea. "This grisly task was neccesary, children. All will be revealed to you in time. For now: I am no ordinary goblin. I serve a mistress of unimaginable power, and her motives are not as dark as they may seem."

"The black dragonflight was once noble. We were the earth warders, protecting the very land itself. How ironic that we – _they_ would become the worst menace the land has known," Kai said. Brock was startled by this. Hadn't he just been told the black dragons were evil? Why did this boy refer to the dragons in the first person?

"We believe that there remains a sliver of hope, however, and so does my mistress. The black dragonflight will live beyond Deathwing's treachery, and will soar as the noble earth warders once again," Rhea continued. "Come now, I want to show you something." She cast a spell on the humans. A bubble shimmered before them and vanished – an invisibility spell fading.

Before them lay a massive black dragoness, surrounded by her eggs. The trainers murmured and gasped. Nyxondra's burning orange eyes locked with the mage's. He could not escape those hateful eyes.

"We will find a shred of good within these dragons, friends. Whether it is in the wild eggs you found, the bodies of the whelplings you slew, or the magically charged eggs that Nyxondra has laid… We will uncorrupt my flight!" Kai said, clenching his fist. His silver eyes glittered with excitement.

"Nyxondra is being held against her will. She is hidden from her brood, right in the middle of their breeding grounds. She lays eggs, but they will be taken away before she can see them hatch. Cruel? Perhaps... but not nearly as cruel as the treatment that her dragonflight showed my mistress," Rhea said. "Show me that I can trust you, mortals. Take Nyxondra's eggs, and bring them here. You will need to beat her into submission before you can take them."

The adventurers gulped. Kai nodded at them. Guiltily, they went forward.

"How dare you," Nyxondra growled.

"Stand down, dragon," Misty said. "This is for your own good…"

"Never!" The dragoness got to her feet and swiped at them. Brock retaliated instinctively with an earth shock and a lightning bolt. Jessie began chain-casting shadowbolts. Gary shot fireballs, fire blasts, and scorch spells at the dragoness. Ash and James stood in front of them, ready to defend them.

The dragon's jaws snapped shut on James and she tossed him over her shoulder. He crashed into a cliff wall but got up and attacked her flank. Misty stood back and healed. Pikachu took a running jump, climbed the dragon's flank, and began shocking the beast. A pyroblast caused Nyxondra to take a step back. She retaliated with her own flames.

Misty instinctively unlocked a new ability – an aura of healing around her, waves of pure Light radiating from her body.

"Onix, go!" The rock snake pokemon was as tall as the dragoness, and just as powerful. Nyxondra roared and reared onto her hind legs, flapping her wings as she attacked the onix. The two struggled with each other.

"Now!" Misty commanded, darting forward between the dragon's feet to grab one of the eggs. Ash grabbed another one, and Jessie the third. They retreated as Brock called his pokemon back. Nyxondra glared at them, unable to chase them out of her magical prison.

"Well fought," Kai said. "Remember, this is for the good of the blackflight."

Rhea accepted the eggs. "Now it is time I revealed the truth to you. You too, Kai, even though they seem to already know." Kai nodded.

There was a flash of light and where Rhea had stood, a giant red dragon now towered over them. Kai had also transformed into his familiar black drake form. Two small, bony bumps at the back of his head – the beginnings of horns – had developed in the year since his friends had last seen him. Otherwise, he looked the same.

"My true name is Rheastrasza, and I am an envoy of Alexstrasza herself, the Aspect of the red dragonflight. Kai is my assistant. With Deathwing currently occupied with other matters, we are going to find a way to redeem the black dragonflight. And you, mortals, are going to help us."

The red dragoness lowered her massive head to look the mortals in the eyes. "I made a calculated decision in revealing my identity to you, children. I needed you to trust me, but I can no longer stay here in Lethlor Ravine, as my cover has quite clearly been blown. You may be able to slip away unnoticed, however, while I distract the dragons. Here, take the results of our research, and bring them west. At Agmond's End, you will find a gnome, Dr. Blam, who knows what to do with these samples. Kai, go with them. As our sole agent from the blackflight, I cannot risk getting you hurt."

"If you say so, Rhea…" the drake said. "I'll meet you outside the ravine. I'm going to fly past those cliffs. If the others see a black drake already covering the area, they won't think to search it themselves."


	5. Pure

The six humans and their dragon companion arrived at Dr. Blam's camp. There were trogg corpses everywhere. The gnome himself was holding a gun that was longer than he was tall – not that such a measurement meant much. He initially gasped and aimed his gun at Kai.

"Relax, Hieronymus. It's just me," the drake said nonchalantly.

"Oh, Kai. I'm not used to seeing your dragon form." Dr. Blam sighed in relief and lowered the gun. "Are these your friends?"

"The ones from the Northrend expedition, yes. Except for the darkest one – he's new."

Dr. Blam adjusted his glasses and did a double take. "Quel'Delar's Chosen?"

Gary waved at him. "Hi, yeah, that's me. Gary Oak, wielder of Quel'Delar. Well, not at the moment. Right now it's in Quel'thalas."

The gnome bowed awkwardly. "It is an honor…!" he stammered.

"That's really not necessary, Dr. Blam," Misty said.

After the introductions were over, the gnome adjusted his spectacles again. "Well, then, you're here for a reason. Samples from Rhea, I assume. Let's see what you have there."

Brock opened the box he'd been carrying and laid out the samples – a pair of wild eggs, one of Nyxondra's imbued eggs, and three dead whelps. Kai looked at them sadly.

"Wild eggs? Blech. Useless. These are never any good. Hmm... Yes, some very nice corpses. Very nice indeed." Dr. Blam looked at Nyxondra's egg in fascination. "Ooh, what's this? Some sort of... pre-engineered egg? This looks promising, but I don't want to know what Rhea had to do to get it."

Hieronymus Blam opened a toolbox and got out some supplies, including a magnifying glass. "I'll need some time to analyze these samples, as well as a break from this trogg-shooting duty. Go man one of my turrets and take out as many troggs as you can, will you? I'll be here studying."

XXX

"The results are in. I've identified traces of corruption in all three samples you brought me. I'm sorry." Kai's wings slumped and he hung his head down sadly. All that for nothing. Misty patted the dragon.

"I'm sorry, Kai," the paladin said.

Dr. Blam suddenly jumped up. "I have an idea! But it's a bit of a long shot. Thankfully, long shots happen to be a specialty of mine. North of here, the Explorers' League has uncovered a new set of titan ruins beneath the sands. If there's anything older and wiser than dragons, it's titans. Heck, I've heard theories that the titans _created_ the dragons. Talk to Lead Prospector Durdin at the camp to the north. He'll have more information than I do about these titans."

"What can the titans do for us?" Ash asked. "They've been gone or hidden away for millennia."

"Their artifacts are still useful," James explained.

Dr. Blam shrugged. "What did I tell you? It's a long shot."

XXX

Brock tried hard not to stare at the dwarves. At the same time, he felt a sort of kinship with them. They seemed closely tied to the stone and soil of the world. "Excuse me," he said to one that seemed to be in charge, "we were wondering if you could tell us about the titans?"

The dwarf stroked his beard. "Ye want to know about the titans? Well… Ye've come to the right place, lad… We're on the brink of somethin' big."

"Great!" Meowth said. The dwarf noticed him for the first time and gave him an odd look.

"Well, ah… First things first, though. I'm not just going to sit here and tell you everything we've discovered down in those ruins. We've got problems to take care of! Most pressing is those upstart Reliquary hooligans, just on the other side of the tomb. They're makin' off with all of our loot! Don't they know that diggin's dwarf work? Hunt down a few of their 'excavators' – more like bandits, if you ask me – and bring some of these precious artifacts back to me. _Then_ we'll talk titans."

Ash, Misty, and Gary were hesitant to go off slaughtering members of the Horde – faction wars did not agree with them. Brock was still totally in the dark about the Horde-Alliance war. Jessie had no such qualms as the others did, and James honestly didn't give a damn. The warlock noticed the others' nervousness and spoke up. "This sounds like the sort of job Team Rocket is meant for."

XXX

Jessie summoned her demonic companion outside the Reliquary camp. The succubus looked around in confusion – she hadn't been summoned to Azeroth in over a year. Upon seeing Jessie, she jumped for joy and tackled the warlock with a tight hug. "_Master!_"

"Oomph! Hello Brylith." The warlock explained the situation to her minion and mounted her felsteed. James sat atop Rivendare's charger, which was just as good as when he first got it.

"Alright then," the death knight said. He snapped the reins, and Jessie followed suit. Meowth aimed an arrow from atop the felsteed's flank. The succubus ran alongside them on foot – her hooves allowed her to cover greater distances faster than a being with feet.

The group raided the encampment, slaughtering elves and a handful of orcs and tauren. Meowth was still a fairly accurate shot from a moving horse, striking more than one target in the heart. Brylith cackled with glee as she snapped her whip at elves, sometimes managing to wrap it around their throats and then tightening it. Jessie threw shadowbolts and fire spells in every direction, while James simply lived up to the death knight image as a mounted warrior riding around cutting people's heads off.

XXX

Team Rocket returned, and dumped out a bag of "liberated" artifacts. They ranged from a rock tied to a stick, all the way through a dusty and faded vase, up to a copper chalice with sockets for gems. The sockets had marks around them suggesting that someone had pried gemstones from them. The trainers glared at Jessie.

"It was that way when I got it off the blood elf, I swear!" the warlock protested. "Perfectly honest truth!" And technically, it _was_ the truth. Jessie really _hadn't_ pried the gems from their sockets – she'd merely looted them from the pockets of the elf who _had._

"Alright, let's take a look," the dwarf said. "Chalice... worthless. Vase... counterfeit. Hieroglyph... interesting, but rather common. What's this?" He picked up the rock tied to a stick. "_I've never seen trogg craftsmanship of this caliber!_ You've stumbled upon something rare indeed!" The humans just looked at one another, but decided not to say anything. "Alright then, let's talk titans."

The man opened up a box containing two statuettes.

"Once those Reliquary honks got here, we panicked, and we all just started looting indiscriminately. A lot of bad archaeology happened that day. Luckily, Olga happened upon this small jade statue. We thought it to be a key of some sort, but can't figure out what it opens. Maybe you'll have some better luck with it." He picked up the green statue and handed it to Misty. He then took the red statue from the box. "We very nearly had this statue stolen from us by one of Bloodwatcher's Reliquary stooges. We managed to catch him in the act, and we've retrieved the statue, but it hasn't really paid off." He gave it to Jessie. "With these, you may be able to unlock the secrets of the Tomb of the Watchers. Good luck."

As the adventurers left, Gary sighed. "We're no better off than when we arrived."

"And to think this started by us asking what was going on and getting caught up in the request of a goblin," Ash muttered.

"Talk about getting sidetracked," Brock said.

"We do this a lot," Misty said with a grin, "get used to it."

Quel'Delar's Chosen – that was what Dr. Blam had called them, so that was apparently their party name – arrived at the titan building. It was large, constructed of green stone that was probably jade, carved with images of the titans themselves. Massive columns held the ceiling up, even under the weight of the dirt that covered most of it. They entered, feeling small in the giant halls. Two stone statues stood at the entrance – red and green. The trainers examined them, but couldn't find a socket for the small statues. They looked around the room – still nothing. Two uncollapsed hallways left the room, so they decided to split up.

"Misty and James come with me," Gary said. "Jessie, Kai, and Brock, go with Ash." They all nodded in agreement.

Gary's group took the green statuette. The mage kept a floating orb of fire above his hand to light their path as they wandered down the jade halls. The building was beautiful, even in its state of ruin. Scenes adorned the walls, scenes of men and women in luxurious toga-like clothes, of bountiful feasts of fruits not seen for centuries, of monsters and majestic beasts. At last, they came to a dead end with an elaborate platform.

"Well, what do we do now?" James asked. Misty leaned on the platform and idly put the statue down on it. She jumped when it clicked and rumbled.

"Brilliant, Misty!" Gary praised the paladin.

"It was an accident…"

The statue split into eight, forming a circle on the eight locations marked with paintings on the platform. A booming voice echoed from no particular place. "The true warden does not face outward, looking for signs of danger, but inward, always focused on protecting his quarry."

"Ooh, goody, a puzzle!" Gary said in mock excitement.

XXX

"Wouldn't it be funny," Jessie mused, "if we got all the way to the place where the statue goes, and found out we had the wrong one?"

"No, it wouldn't be funny, it would be annoying," Brock said. He looked around at the carvings on the jade walls. "Is this typical for Azeroth?"

"Not really," Ash said. "I've never seen anything like it, and I've seen a lot."

The warlock's fire spell illuminated a large room. "Whoa." There were many statues there, on rotating platforms attached to the floor. There was one red statue in a socket in the wall. On the same wall was an empty socket.

"Red statue goes in that socket," Kai said, "just a hunch." The warlock did as was suggested, and nearly fell over backwards when the statue's eyes began to glow. The beams of light were clearly visible in the dusty air.

A deep voice boomed through the chamber. "The Sentinel watches. The Sentinel protects. The Sentinel's vision never falters."

XXX

Gary rearranged the statues so that instead of facing outward, they all faced toward the center. They suddenly fell over and loud rumbling came from the main room. "That was it? Seriously? What a lame excuse for a puzzle. _Ash_ could have solved that in under a minute."

"I have a feeling dere's more to dis…" Meowth muttered.

XXX

Kai noticed that the light beams struck one of the many gray statues, which then also projected beams. He rotated the statue to face another. The same effect occurred.

"Easy," Ash said, setting about changing the rotation of the statues to aim the lights around the pillars. The light beams reached the other red statue, and more loud rumbling came from the main chamber.

XXX

The group reassembled in the main hall.

"So much rumbling out here," James commented. Misty was already investigating the statues.

"Well, I can tell you this much," Gary said, "one of two things is going to happen. Those statues will either help us or try to kill us."

"There's a socket in here now!" Misty said. She put the red statue in the red socket. The large statue came to life, stretched its limbs, and stomped toward the adventurers.

"Ah," Brock said calmly, "looks like your second guess was right. I take it this happens a lot."

"Yup," the mage replied, preparing a fireball.

It didn't take much effort to bring down the statue. The next one fared much the same. Still more rumbling echoed through the halls.

"That wasn't there before," Brock said, pointing at a stone box.

"That also happens a lot," Gary told him. The mage tried as hard as he could to remove the stone slab from the top, but couldn't do it. "A little help here?"

Ash walked over and easily pushed the stone off. Gary turned crimson with embarrassment. "You're pathetic, Gary."

"You're a warrior!" Gary snapped. "Of course you're stronger than I am."

"Look, _Misty_ is stronger than you," Ash retorted with a grin. Misty giggled, and Gary just looked humiliated.

"Shut up, Ash!" Gary folded his arms over his chest, still blushing, and muttered under his breath "I'd like to see what you could lift before you started playing with swords."

Ash ignored his old rival and picked up the item inside the box. It was an odd device, a sphere inside a dodecahedron frame. "I hope Blam knows what this is."

XXX

"Just one tiny little device? I never did understand those titans. Very well, let's see what this peeper can do." The gnome took the device. "Hey, look, it's flying!"

The adventurers stood back and watched. The object spoke mechanically. "Boot up protocol complete. Scanning for objective. Objective identified. Scanning." It hovered over the whelps. "Anomaly detected. Probable source: Azerothian Old God. Attempting to excise anomaly." It flew to the eggs. "Anomaly excised. Repeating sub-protocol." It said this for each egg, except the last.

"Anomaly excised. Assembling remaining material." The eggs and whelps glowed and floated together into one shape. "Viable subject compiled. No anomalies detected." The glowing shape dropped back onto the ground.

_It was an egg._


	6. Rheastrasza's Gift

"D-... did you see that? Incredible! My titan thing idea worked! With your help, of course," the gnome said. "We'll want to get this back to Rhea. She's not at Lethlor Ravine anymore; it sounds like she blew her cover pretty well when she transformed into her true form in front of all those whelps. She's now in the west, staying at an Alliance camp called Dragon's Mouth. She'll be waiting for you. And for that egg."

Gary moved to pick up the dragon egg, but Kai, in his human form, unexpectedly shoved him aside and scooped the egg up. "No! I'll carry it." He cradled it in his arms, clutching it to his chest. The humans blinked but didn't say anything.

As Ash was without a horse, his having been slain in icecrown, and considering that Kai wanted to carry the egg, which would be easier if he remained in his human form, Quel'Delar's Chosen decided to walk the rest of the way to the Dragon's Mouth. As predicted, Rhea was waiting for them.

"Ahh," the goblin said, "that's some precious cargo you have there, Kai…" She walked over and reached up to take the egg from Kai. "I'll take that off your hands. We need to get this egg incubated." The drake hesitated and bit his lip. He didn't want to let it go. "And _hidden_, quickly. There are lots of angry dragons looking for this." Reluctantly, Kai gave the egg to the dragoness.

Rhea turned away to wrap the egg up in a blanket. "Now then. In my haste to escape from Lethlor Ravine, I forgot to tie up one loose end: Nyxondra. She's free, and she's sounded the alarm among the black dragonflight. Half the flight is here in the western Badlands, combing for this egg.

I'll take care of hiding the egg. You're going to take care of some of the more troublesome dragons."

Kai's eyes glinted dangerously. "Indeed we are."

"Your first assignment: Kalaran, a black drake of considerable power. He has joined in the hunt for the egg we are protecting. We need to stop him before he gets too close."

XXX

Jessie caught the dragon's attention with a shadowbolt. Kalaran's eyes gleamed as the drake descended upon the heroes.

"Your egg-hunting days are through, dragon," James said, drawing his sword.

The drake laughed. "You think to challenge Kalaran the Annihilator, destroyer of nations?"

"And you challenge Kai, defender of the righteous?" The dark-skinned boy had transformed. Kalaran snarled at him. With a roar, Kai lunged at the other drake, shoving him aside with all the force of his body. Kalaran responded by bracing himself, digging his talons into the ground and snapping his jaws at Kai. The younger drake backed off, growling. Kalaran charged, rearing up to slam his front talons into Kai's flank, ripping it open. Kai shrieked and blasted his opponent with fire. Gary and Jessie were preparing spells but they stopped and let the flames and shadows flicker out when the drakes began to circle. They couldn't tell who was who! The dragon with the torn flank charged into the other drake, forcing him to stumble to the side. A pyroblast smacked it in the face.

"Attack that one!" Gary commanded. "Misty, don't heal Kai – we can use his injuries to tell them apart!"

"Gee thanks," Kai spat, as he flapped his wings to rear up and dodge the other dragon's snapping jaws. He smacked Kalaran's head aside, leaving deep claw-marks on the side of his face. Kalaran roared and lunged again, this time catching Kai's wing. Kai shrieked and tried to escape. He could feel bone crunching. Kalaran let go with a roar as a pair of swords sank into his side. He stumbled to the side, only for Kai's teeth to sink into his neck. The drake twisted his opponent's spine around, attempting to snap it. James sliced the dragon's throat at this point, and the struggling ceased.

Kai spat out blood. Whether it was his, Kalaran's, or both was unclear. Globes of water formed around Brock's hands as the shaman cast a healing wave spell. The orbs floated over to Kai and splashed soothingly over his wounds, healing them.

"How did you do that?" Misty asked.

"It's a shaman thing," Brock replied.

"Well, _yeah,_ I know that. But how'd you do it?"

"I can show you some time, later. But not now."

XXX

"The black dragonflight means business. It appears that they've taken over a large portion of New Kargath, the large Horde settlement northwest of Dragon's Mouth. Their troops are under the command of General Jirakka and his champion, Moldarr. They must be stopped. We dragons do not take part in the squabbles between Horde and Alliance, but I do understand the risk you take in entering New Kargath. Please, heroes... be careful."

"That shouldn't be a problem. We've worked with the Horde before," Ash said.

"I doubt any of our Horde friends will be there," Misty told him, "and we're not exactly recognized on sight by anyone else."

"This is true."

"Let's just go deal with the dragons," Jessie snapped impatiently.

XXX

Moldarr and his grunts fell swiftly. Now the heroes approached General Jirakka, the dragonspawn. His lower portion was a dragon's four-legged body, or at least something similar. His upper body was human-like, save for the dragon's head.

Kai looked disgusted and disappointed. "He's not even a real dragon!"

Ash charged in with his swords raised. "Lok'tar ogar!"

Jirakka turned surprisingly quickly for a quadruped. He blocked Ash's swords with his own. A lightning bolt hit him, then another. Brock's shamanistic lightning was tinted blue, while the pikachu's was golden. James shocked the dragonspawn with ice magic, only to have flames shot at him from the creature's nostrils. Jirakka slashed at Ash with his sword, keeping Misty on her toes for healing.

The general slammed his tail into James's feet, knocking them out from under the death knight. He slid to the edge of the platform and scrambled to get out of the way before the dragonspawn could force him off the end. The dragonkin wasn't interested. Instead he grabbed Ash by the throat with his massive, clawed hand. He picked the warrior up. Ash struggled and kicked, but couldn't escape. He couldn't breathe! Jirakka dropped the warrior as a bolt of lava struck him. Brock was already preparing another lightning attack.

A black meteor slammed into the dragonspawn's back at Jessie's command. Her imp shot a small fireball at the general. Gary chain-cast scorch at Jirakka. He was knocked off his feet when the general charged at him. He was about to bring his sword down into the mage's chest when he lost his grip on it – the warrior had disarmed him! Panic glinted in Jirakka's eyes. A hydropump from Misty's vaporeon forced him to the side. James cut through his armor and into his chest. He lashed out at the death knight's face with his talons in a desperate move. Jessie's soulfire weakened the dragonspawn as the death knight stepped back, hands over the bleeding wounds on his face. Misty set about healing him as pikachu let out a thunderbolt. General Jirakka fell to all four knees. Brock cast a frost shock at him, which proved to be the killing blow.

XXX

Rhea was waiting for the heroes to return. "Well done, well done. There is but one task left…" The goblin sighed. "My greatest regret is the treatment that we – no, _I_ – gave Nyxondra. I forced her to lay her eggs in captivity, then I performed experiments on them. Over, and over, and over again. Even as a mother myself, I can only imagine her sorrow."

"Our work is for the benefit of future generations of black dragons. Her sacrifice was necessary," Kai said.

"You're right. Even so, I feel so sorry for her. Nyxondra circles the Ruins of Kargath, northwest of New Kargath, insane with fury. Please, heroes... put her out of her misery."

XXX

"_My kin will not forget what you've done!_" the dragoness screamed. "_We will rage, mortals!_" She threw herself at Quel'Delar's Chosen. Recalling how effective it had been the first time, Brock called out his onix. "This time you die, beast! _You'll pay! You'll all pay!_" Nyxondra roared, attacking the onix.

"Keep it healed, Misty," Brock said, "my water-based healing spells won't help!"

"Oh, for once I'm not the meat shield?" Ash said.

"Guess not," James replied. "Now, slay that dragon!"

Kai stayed back while the others fought. He didn't want to draw attention just yet. He instead slipped behind a rock. "Onix, bind!" Brock commanded, casting earth shocks under the dragoness's claws, to keep her moving. It took all the pokemon's strength to keep the dragon bound! Nyxondra roared and spat fire randomly. Jessie was caught in the blast. Brock sent a healing spell her way; the soothing, cool water rushed over the warlock's wounds.

Nyxondra's tail flailed wildly, knocking Misty several yards away. The paladin slammed into a cliff face. Wincing, she healed herself. Kai watched closely as Gary threw fireballs at the black dragon. Now was his chance! The drake took flight and began to spit balls of fire at the elder dragon. She wouldn't know the difference.

The dragoness continued to thrash, rolling into rocks to try to get the pokemon off of her. She twitched violently as Pikachu shocked her repeatedly. Meowth's arrows embedded themselves all over her, only pushing deeper as she struggled with the onix. Finally, the pokemon fell off of Nyxondra. With a wild roar the dragoness took flight. She chased after Kai. "_You stole my babies! You took my children! You'll regret the day you hatched, traitor!_"

Kai flew wildly, just trying to evade the angry dragoness. Jessie and Gary continued their magical assault. Misty joined the attack, casting an exorcism at the dragon. Whatever dark force had corrupted the black flight would obviously not respond well to the Holy Light. Brock threw bolts of lightning and lava up at Nyxondra. Pikachu shocked the dragoness, while vaporeon tried to hit her with blasts of water. James, with his short-range magic, and Ash, with no ranged abilities to speak of, stood on the ground, feeling useless.

"_Come to me, my children! Your mother calls for aid!_" On cue, whelps streamed in.

"Where'd dey all come from?" Meowth asked, abandoning his assault on the flying dragon to pick off whelps. James and Ash no longer felt useless, nor did absol and onix. The stone pokemon lunged like a snake, snapping up whelps in its jaws. Absol shredded flesh with its claws and teeth. The two trainers aiding them were a furious whirlwind of blades.

"So many whelps!" Ash cried out in astonishment.

"Handle it!" Gary told him, not once looking away from his target.

The whelps closed in. Misty gave up on attacking Nyxondra to help Ash and James fight off the whelplings. She consecrated the ground. One by one, the whelplings fell, but more arrived.

Kai panted as he flapped his wings as hard as he could. He had to stay ahead! Nyxondra shot fire at him several times, and he could _feel_ the flame singeing his tail. The drake suddenly dove, opening his jaws and unleashing fire upon the whelps below. He tried to not think about the fact that he was killing his own kin, and babies at that.

Nyxondra's wings swooshed over the heroes, barely missing them. James lunged as the dragoness passed overhead, slicing deep into the wing membrane. The dragoness cried out and veered to the side. She crashed into a cliff wall. Hauling herself to her feet, she roared in agony.

"Onix, _kill._" The stone pokemon looked at its master questioningly. Brock pointed at the dragon and the onix did as it was told. It wrapped around the weakened dragoness and squeezed her. She struggled, but eventually she did die.

"Let's get out of here," Misty said. "We don't know when more whelps might show up to avenge their mother."

XXX

"Just think… Nyxondra may be the mother of the new Azerothean black dragonflight. Her purified Azerothean egg, combined with the few black dragons from Outland… Perhaps together they can start anew, with some additional magical help." Rhea went into a tent and came out again with the wrapped egg. "We must keep moving. The egg is not safe anywhere. Deathwing, even in his madness, knows all the hidden places in this world. With the major black dragons out of the region, we have a chance to move it again. I'll meet you on the small plateau north of Kargath."

XXX

"I'll be right back," Rhea said. "I'll go get the egg. You heroes wait here, in the bushes." The goblin entered the cave nearby. A moment later, she started to leave the cave, an egg in her arms.

"Do…" Jessie suddenly asked, "do you smell something…"

"Burning?" Gary finished the sentence for her. "Yes…"

"Something feels wrong," Misty said.

"Shhh!" Ash said. Everyone was silent. Wingbeats, getting closer.

A dark shadow passed over the heroes. They looked up – they were too shocked to even gasp. Instead, they merely froze. No words could describe the horror that struck their hearts. No sound could accurately convey their terror.

_Deathwing_ thudded down in front of the cave, his black scales gleaming, the metal plates holding his shattered body together creaking and clanking, the molten _evil_ dripping down from the cracks in his flesh. Rhea panicked and backed into the cave again. "_**You impetuous little whelp! I know exactly what you and the mortals are up to! Are you ready to die, dragon?**_" A pause – presumably Rhea was speaking. "_Mercy?_ _**Mercy? **__**There is no mercy!**__** You will burn for this, dragon!**_" Deathwing roared and opened his massive metal maw. Flames spewed out, filling the cave with such force that there was a backdraft coming out of the cavern. The Black Aspect threw back his head and let out a mad cackle before taking off again. "_This entire world will burn beneath the shadow of my wings! There is nothing you can do to save yourselves!_"

Quel'Delar's Chosen cowered in the bushes. Misty clung to Gary's cloak. Team Rocket clung to each other in terror. When the coast was clear, Kai burst out of the security of the shrubs. Gary followed the drake. The rest of the group then rushed after them, as though an invisible wall had fallen.

"_Rhea!_" Kai called out. "_No!_" He fell to his knees. In front of him was a pile of ashes. Some charred bones and shell fragments were all that remained of Rheastrasza and the egg. "All our work! All our hopes! Gone! _No!_"

Gary picked up a stone tablet. "Wait." A message was carved hastily, sloppily, into the stone. "It's a note from Rhea!" Misty practically pushed him over trying to look at it over his shoulder. She read it aloud.

"Heroes: If you are reading this, then my suspicions were correct. Deathwing has found us. The egg is destroyed, as am I. This was, actually, the plan from the beginning. You see, the egg that Deathwing destroyed was not the egg he sought." Misty's face went pale as she read the last three words. "It was mine."

"You were not the only mortals that Rhea confided in…" a gnome's voice said. The heroes turned. Dr. Hieronymous Blam was at the entrance to the cave, holding two dragon eggs, almost too large for him to carry. One was the purified black dragon egg. The other appeared to be a red dragon egg. "Rheastrasza's sacrifice was not in vain. We can now hide the black dragon egg somewhere safe. The question is, where?"

There was a pause. "Pallet Town," Gary said.

"What?" Blam asked.

"We'll hide the dragon egg in Pallet Town, back in Kanto. In our homeworld."

Ash agreed. "A little no-name town in the middle of nowhere on a foreign planet. Deathwing will never think to look there."

"It'll be safe with Gramps."

"Well then. Pallet Town it is," the gnome agreed. He tried his best to offer the black egg to Kai without dropping the red egg. The drake took it and clutched it to his chest, rocking it back and forth slightly, with his eyes tightly shut. The gnome turned to the paladin. "As for this… This is Rhea's last egg. Misty, it was Rheastrasza's last wish that I give this to you." Dr. Blam held out the red dragon egg to the paladin.

Tears welled up in the girl's eyes. She took the dragon egg and held it close to her heart.

"Take good care of it, girl…"

"I will. I promise."


	7. Portal Hopping

"We'll rest here in Fuselight," Gary said, "but make it quick. This dragon egg needs to be on the move constantly. We've gotta get it back to Kanto as soon as possible."

"Who's going to stay behind with Professor Oak?" Misty asked. "Someone should stay back to make sure the egg receives proper care."

"Won't be me," Gary said, "because I do all the portals. Won't be you, because you're the healer. And it can't be Ash, because he's our meat-shield and my life depends on his being good at that."

A goblin – Gary's namesake – wandered over. "What's this I hear about a professor?"

"Uh…" Ash said slowly, "he's a human… back on our homeworld."

Ms. Fleezlebop looked at them in half-astonishment, half-amusement. "A _human professor?_" It dawned on Quel'Delar's chosen that most professors in Azeroth were gnomes or goblins. "Now this I gotta see!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Gary said. "No. You are not coming to Kant-"

"Gary, she can help us," Ash said.

"_Huh?_" Gary looked at his old rival as though he'd gone insane. "You'd let some… some… _stranger_… handle such precious-"

"We need someone from Azeroth, or who at least knows Azeroth, to go back to Kanto. A goblin tinkerer is perfect because I bet with a little magic she can whip something up to keep in contact with us in case something goes wrong," Misty explained. Gary gritted his teeth. He was wrong, for once, and Ash was right.

Ms. Fleezlebop looked at them with one eyebrow raised. James turned to her. "Do you know anything about dragons, Ms. Fleezlebop? And how long would it take you to engineer a cross-world radio?"

"A little bit, and with magical help – though I hate to use it – an hour, tops. I've got a two-way communication device gathering dust in the back. Just some tweaking and some of your mage's creepy voodoo and it should work like a charm."

"Very well then," Gary said. "We leave in an hour."

Misty sat in Fleezlebop's workshop, cradling the red dragon egg in her arms, while the goblin worked away at her devices. The paladin explained what was going on, despite Gary's protests that the whole thing needed to be kept quiet. She told the goblin about the egg, why it was important, who Professor Oak was, what Kanto was like, and about what she understood of Gary's ranting about weak Ley Lines. The engineer nodded without looking up from her work from time to time, only rarely interrupting to ask a clarifying question.

Meanwhile, Jessie and Gary discussed magic and the best way to get the signals from Azeroth to Kanto and back. Jessie suggested flinging the signal through the Twisting Nether. The mage shook his head and told her this was far too unpredictable, and the chances of a Twilight Cultist tapping in and picking up the signal were too great. The warlock protested that they wouldn't be able to read the signal anyway because they didn't have one of Fleezlebop's radios. Gary told her it wasn't worth the risk and suggested bouncing the signals across the Elementals Planes, which he believed were located somewhere in between Azeroth and Kanto. This would have the added benefit of being accessible even if they had to enter the Elemental Planes. Jessie pointed out that there were cultists there too, in all likelihood, but Gary countered that they, being shadow users, would be constantly pulling things in and out of the Twisting Nether, and not likely to think of using the Planes themselves as a conductor.

Ash, Brock, James, Kai, and Meowth all sat aside and watched this with amusement, trying to make sense of what the spellcasters were saying. There was nothing for them to do but wait.

XXX

"Alright," Fleezlebop said, pushing her goggles up onto her forehead, "let's test this baby out!"

"Just push da red button?" Meowth asked.

"Yep!"

"I'm afraid we can't test it _just_ yet," Gary said. "That would involve a portal to Kanto. Remember how hard that was the first time? I'm going to need Quel'Delar to amplify my arcane energies, and possibly Jaina to help me."

"If you're going to be portaling around to get Quel'Delar, you might as well drop us off in Ironforge to pick up our gear," James suggested.

"_What?_" Kai yelped. "T-take the egg into a _crowded city?_"

"Wrap it in a blanket if you're so worried about it," Brock said.

XXX

The heroes stepped out of the portal, with their new goblin friend in tow. "Welcome to Ironforge, city of the dwarves," Gary said. They all looked around with the same awe as when they first saw Stormwind. The entire city was inside a mountain, so it was lit by torches and a channel of molten stone and metal in a deep chasm, covered by metal grillwork. The entire tunnel-city was lit with an orange glow, most of the light coming from below. It was majestic and huge. Gryphons flew up near the high, vaulted stone ceiling. Buildings were carved directly into the cavern walls, two layers of them, in fact. Stairways led up to second-level buildings.

A handful of people in the city _recognized_ them, from the Icecrown assault. They pointed and whispered among themselves. "Is that Lady Misty Waterflower?" "Quel'Delar's Chosen! Look, look!" "I thought they'd left Azeroth!"

Misty stopped to ask a dwarven guard where the museum was, and he pointed her to it calmly, clearly not recognizing her.

XXX

There was their armor, and their weapons, minus Quel'Delar itself. Their full battlegear stood on mannequins on one side of the new hall, their weapons on stands on the other. Shining bronze plaques were fixed to the stands on which the items were displayed, reading things like _Runeblade of James Morgan. Shield of Misty Waterflower. Armor of Ash Ketchum. Robes of Jessie Wilkes. Mage's Regalia of Gary Oak, wielder of Quel'Delar._

James spoke to the curator of the museum about taking the armor back temporarily. Naturally, the dwarf was very stubborn, but he could not deny that the armor was all perfectly-fit for them. Furthermore, they matched what little description – both of their classes and their appearance – he'd heard of Quel'Delar's chosen. The paladin and warlock were both redheads. The mage had his hair combed forward. The one that gave him pause was James, for he certainly didn't look undead, though he _did _have purple hair. He was hesitant, still. If these people were Quel'Delar's Chosen, where was the sword?

Finally, in exasperation, Gary started conjuring a portal. "I'll be right back. I'm going to go have a chat with Lor'themar Theron about getting my sword back. Good luck here, guys."

XXX

"Gary! What are you doing here? I thought you'd returned to your homeland?" The one-eyed elf said.

"I did. Things have changed. The cataclysm that tore Azeroth apart – it hit my world too, somehow. The problem runs deeper than we think. So my friends and I came back. We need our armor and our weapons and the dwarves of Ironforge won't let us have our stuff back until we prove we're Quel'Delar's chosen. I need the sword back."

"Psh, dwarves." Lor'themar shook his head. "Come with me, Gary."

XXX

A portal opened up in front of the other heroes. They were still arguing with the dwarf when Gary stepped out, Quel'Delar casually resting on his shoulder. "Does this prove our point?"

"By Bronzebeard's bronze beard…!"

XXX

Now clad in their familiar gear, the heroes continued their portal-jumping adventure. This time they were off to Theramore, to find Jaina Proudmoore. Gary would need her help to open a portal back to Kanto, again. This time it should be easier, since he'd done it in the past, and lately he'd been _practicing _the art of portal-making, to say the least. They again had to explain why they were there, what was going on, and why they needed to head back to Kanto. Kai unwrapped the purified black dragon egg and presented it to Jaina. She nodded.

Proudmoore and Gary began to discuss energy cruxes, anchor threads, focuses, flux variance, and Surian theory, which Jaina was apparently not fond of, though Gary adored it. The others watched them without really understanding a word of what was being said, except Jessie, who at least knew what focuses and anchor threads were. She added a few comments here and there, most of which prompted the reaction of "You're a warlock; you don't know what you're talking about" or "That only works with Fel energy." After much debating, they finally got around to making a portal outside the keep, with a handful of runes. The circle was nowhere near as complex as the one Gary had made in Kanto, and it went much quicker because Jaina could use magic to help construct it rather than having to do the whole thing manually.

"Alright, let's test Fleezlebop's invention," Brock said. Jessie took one of the transceivers, and walked through the portal. James held the other.

A moment later, the device crackled and a voice said, through a little static, "_Prepare for trouble?_"

James grinned and pressed the button. "Make it double."

"_It works! Yes! Okay guys, the portal dropped me off somewhere south of Viridian City. Go ahead and come on through._"

"Thanks for your help, Jaina." Brock said, trying not to ogle the sorceress too obviously.

"Not a problem." Proudmoore waved as the heroes headed back to Kanto.

XXX

The whole group, goblin and dragon included, headed south to Pallet Town, still clad in their adventuring gear. They didn't care if anyone looked at them strangely. What was more important was being able to defend themselves and the dragon egg if anything went wrong. Upon arriving at the town, Kai and Fleezlebop looked around in awe and confusion. They'd never seen a town like this, having spent their lives in worlds effectively stuck in the middle ages. The goblin looked like she was about to burst from pure glee when she entered the Professor's lab, and the dragon boy just looked completely overwhelmed. Professor Oak did a double take. He stared at the armor, robes, swords, shields, and tunics, then at the goblin, then back at the gear.

As though reading his grandfather's mind, the mage said, "It's adventuring gear, Gramps. We need it to protect ourselves."

"And, we need _you_ to protect something for us," Brock added.

"We figured out what's going on," Ash said. At this point the group collapsed into chaos with everyone trying to talk at once. The Professor gestured for silence.

"One at a time!" The videophone rang. Oak sighed and went to answer it. "Oh, hello, Wendy. Rex, how is your charmeleon doing?"

Quel'Delar's chosen murmured amongst themselves, then rushed over to the screen. It was them, unmistakably them! It was strange to see them in their normal clothing – though Rex did have a katana with him, presumably a family heirloom. "You guys?" Rex said, startled. "You're wearing adventuring gear. But… What… Okay, what's going on?"

They explained Deathwing, the cataclysm, the Elemental Planes, and the dragon egg. Gary presented his theory that the pokemon world was linked to Azeroth through shared Elemental Planes – which had their ties, incidentally, closest to Kanto, which was the reason it was hit so much harder than any other region. Brock finally got to feel useful, as he knew more about the elements now than anyone else in the group, and could explain in depth exactly what the problem was.

Rex and Wendy looked at one another. "So that's what all this is about," Wendy said. She looked troubled.

"It's good that you're geared," Rex said. After a pause, he gave the bad news. "Twilight's Hammer Cultists have gotten into Kanto."

Gary cursed, something he didn't often do in front of his grandfather. Ash muttered "Maybe it won't be so safe here after all."

"It is of the utmost importance that the egg is protected. Since we have to go on a quest, it would be foolish to bring the egg with us," Misty said. Kai unwrapped the dragon egg carefully and showed it to the Professor, Rex, and Wendy. "It's still safer here than it would be in Azeroth."

"Well that's why I'm staying behind to help out," Fleezlebop said, hopping up onto an unoccupied chair so she could actually show up on the screen. "My, what a marvelous piece of technology," she muttered, before going back to the topic at hand. She bowed. "Garyanne Fleezlebop. Due to shared names, the kids here call me Ms. Fleezlebop or just Fleezlebop for short."

"No offense," Wendy said, "but a lone goblin and a pokemon Professor will not be able to hold off the Twilight Cultists if they locate that dragon egg."

"We'll be there soon," Rex said. "You could use our help. At the same time, we'll work on getting the rest of Kanto caught up. With our knowledge and the Professor's influence, it shouldn't be too hard. You guys deal with fixing the problem."

"Sounds like a plan," Meowth said.


	8. Up to Speed

The doorbell rang, and the professor went to get it. "Rex, Wendy, good that you're here. Come right on in."

The red-haired boy with a katana and a black leather jacket entered the lobby where Quel'Delar's Chosen were sitting on one of the couches. The blonde girl in a pink skirt and a yellow t-shirt followed. The Professor sat down on the other couch. Rex and Wendy greeted the others warmly – too warmly, perhaps, because Rex's salutation to Misty was "Hey, baby, how you doin'?" and a wink. He put his hand on her shoulder.

Gary got up immediately and shoved him lightly. "Hey! Keep your hands off my girlfriend!"

"Boys!" Oak scolded. "Now is not the time!"

"Okay, okay," Rex said, backing off, "my bad. Didn't know she was taken…" Wendy folded her arms over her chest and glared at him. They sat down next to the Professor.

"Fleezlebop," Meowth called, "you can come out now. It's our old friends!"

The goblin came out of the back room with the dragon eggs in her arms. Misty took the red one and cradled it.

"Alright, now," James said. "Let's figure out exactly what we're going to do."

"First thing you should know," Misty informed Rex and Wendy, "is that Ms. Fleezlebop here has made a two-way communicator, in case something goes wrong."

"Secondly," Ash said, "someone needs to be watching that egg twenty-four-seven."

"So we take shifts, got it," Wendy said.

"I have other things to attend to, so my shift will have to be shorter," the Professor said. "As much as I feel I have a role to play in this, I'm a Professor. I'm needed elsewhere."

"That's quite alright," Rex said. "We understand."

"Third thing that needs to be done," Gary added, "we need to get Kantoans caught up. Preferably soon."

Wendy agreed. "_Before_ the Twilight Cult gets to them. If we don't explain what's really going on, people may believe their doomsday crap."

"Remember how bad it was when the Lich King got his hands on pokemon?" Rex added.

"Yeah, that was not fun," said Jessie. "Let's not let that happen again with the Twilight's Hammer."

"The best way to catch everyone up would be through television. I'm sure if I claim to have a grasp of what's going on, I can get a few news stations to come for an interview. Rex, Wendy, you two can help explain. Hopefully my previous credibility and your expertise will be enough to convince most people. After what we've all seen, I'm sure most of us are willing to believe most anything," Oak said.

"The trouble with that, Gramps, is that it puts you on the map as an obvious target for the Twilight's Hammer," Gary said.

"And as you're the one guarding the egg," Kai added, "which the Hammer is almost certainly after, assuming Deathwing knows it wasn't destroyed…"

"Do we have a choice? They're the only ones capable of getting this information out there," Ash pointed out.

"While da Professor and our friends have their interviews, Fleezlebop can be in da back wit' da egg," Meowth suggested. "So it's never unguarded. Besides, she's got dat button. She can tell us if she needs help."

"But how fast would we be able to provide that help?" Gary asked. "I can't just make a portal between worlds at a moment's notice. A portal to Kanto from Azeroth takes time and energy that I can't just provide last minute. In addition, I can't aim specifically for Pallet Town. The portal takes us where the portal takes us. It might drop us off in Lavender Town as far as I know – and then what a bad position we'd be in!"

"It's all we've got," Rex said. "In the case of an emergency, assuming someone's on watch at all times, we should be able to defend the egg for a short time."

"Wendy and the Professor should probably have some sort of weapon too," Kai suggested.

"That would be rather difficult," Ash said. In Kanto, nobody needed guns for self-defense, because they had pokemon instead. As such, guns were a rarity. As for swords, nobody anywhere within a reasonable distance had made sharp ones for ages.

"The Twilight's Hammer will probably be in a similar situation," Gary pointed out. "Most of them are casters. They can't use their magic here any more than I can."

"That's not entirely true," Rex said. "They have dragons."

"Black dragons? Here?" Brock exclaimed.

"No," Wendy said. "Twilight dragons. The Hammer's twisted, demented creations. They use them to kill 'nonbelievers' and as tools to scare people into joining them."

"That complicates things," Ash said. Pikachu vocalized to express its agreement.

"We do have many pokemon stored here," Brock said.

"That's a good point!" Misty agreed. "Since we can only take one pokemon at a time into Azeroth – and presumably the Elemental Planes – most of ours will be back here in the lab."

"Well, I give you full permission to access any of my stored pokemon to use in defense against the Twilight's Hammer," Gary said. The others quickly agreed.

"Well, it's settled then," Brock concluded.

"To the Elemental Planes, then, I guess," Kai said.

"Not just yet. Hashana mentioned something about shamans and druids meeting at Mount Hyjal's world tree."

"Nordrassil?" Ash inquired.

"How'd you know that?" Misty asked.

"Starwisp told me about it once. The Wel-"

"Well of Eternity. Greatest source of magical energy on Azeroth," Gary finished for him. "There go my chances of breaking my arcane addiction."

Jessie suddenly went pale. "Wait. Brock, is this world tree in any danger?"

"It might be."

"If the Twilight Cult… if _Deathwing…_ Oh no."

"What's the matter?" James asked.

"Oh God," Gary said, suddenly understanding what Jessie was getting at. "I bet that tree pushes back against the corruptive effects of the arcane. Otherwise, such intensely concentrated magic would be, for all intents and purposes, pure evil. If good things flourish there, as I know they do, then Nordrassil _must_ purify the effects of the magic."

"Exactly," Jessie said. "Imagine what would happen if that tree were destroyed." Both she and Gary were pale and looked absolutely terrified at the thought.

"Guys," the mage suggested, "maybe we should check out the world tree, just in case, you know? Makes me nervous not knowing if the Twilight's Hammer poses a threat to Nordrassil and the Well of Eternity. Knowing the sort of things they try, I wouldn't put it past them."


	9. Well of Dreams

The red-haired boy and the blonde girl on TV were babbling nonsense. If it weren't for Professor Oak standing by and backing what they said, nobody would believe them. With his support, though, their insane ranting demanded attention. "_The Elemental Planes are unbalanced_," the boy said, "_due to the disruption caused by the evil dragon Neltharion – better known as Deathwing. He's broken free of his prison on the elemental plane of earth._"

The interviewer asked a question of them. "_And why is our world being affected by these Elemental Planes? Why has Kanto been hit the hardest?_"

The children looked at each other. "_Those are questions we can't answer. We're only a paladin and a priestess – we don't know much about the elements or Ley Lines,_" the girl said. "_We're only covering for the experts who are unavailable_."

The Professor spoke up. "_My grandson is a very powerful and knowledgeable sorcerer. He'd know the answer to those questions. Unfortunately, he's currently in Azeroth, trying to fix this mess. From what I understood of what he was saying, he has a theory that the two worlds are deeply linked, possibly by the Titans, the shapers of Azeroth. If that's the case, we may share the Elemental Planes with that world._"

The interviewer continued to do a very good job of staying serious, even with as ludicrous a situation as this. "_Do we have any idea of when this will be fixed? What should the people of Kanto do in the meantime?_"

"_We don't have enough information about __**exactly**__ what is broken in Deepholm to know how long it would take to fix it,_" the boy said. "_There are shamans discussing the issue, if not already mobilizing to work on it, as we speak._"

"_Not to mention_," the girl calling herself a priestess added, "_if there's an even more pressing issue in Azeroth to be dealt with first. After all, that's the world Deathwing broke into, not ours_."

"_And why does it matter if something happens to Azeroth? Shouldn't their priorities be to stop the problems here in Kanto first?_" the interviewer questioned.

"_Well, two reasons. First of all, if Gary's theory of connection is correct, Deathwing's successes in Azeroth could be more catastrophic here than the ongoing effects of the elemental unbalance. And there are any number of things that he could do that would quite likely cause massive calamities here – the destruction of the world tree Nordrassil, for example_," the boy explained.

The girl picked up where he left off. "_The second reason is that Deathwing and the elementals aren't the only problem we have. There is a cult known as the Twilight's Hammer, which worships the unspeakable horrors known only as Old Gods. They aim to destroy the world, and they see Deathwing as a demigod of sorts. They'll stop at nothing to convert as many people as possible to their cause, including terror tactics. __**This is the most important thing for the people of Kanto to know!**__ The Twilight Cult has gotten into Kanto somehow. They'll cause all sorts of trouble – conversions, sabotage, anything. They'll try to destroy our world as well._"

The interviewer turned to the camera. "_More on the Twilight's Hammer and what to do in this time of crisis, after the break!_"

The dragonite that lay sprawled across the majority of the sofa lifted her head from her master's lap and let out an uneasy cooing noise. Lance gently stroked her head. "Hush, dragonite. We'll be fine." It all sounded like something from a dream, or perhaps a nightmare, of his. Like a fantasy novel come true.

XXX

Luckily, Gary had been able to find another Nexus closer to Pallet Town. It was weaker, but he had been able to open a portal there using a more streamlined rune circle based on the one Jaina had used. His original circle had been clunky at best, with unnecessary details, like a poorly-coded program. His new one was done in a matter of hours, and off they went to Azeroth once more. This time, the portal dropped them in Darnassus. Ash purchased a new horse from a Gilnean man to replace his fallen steed, while Misty found a visiting paladin who explained to her the way to work with her shifted abilities and to understand the necklace she'd been given. Then, they set out for Moonglade, the enchanted forest of eternal night. Their hippogryphs landed in a druid settlement overlooking the great lake. Green dragons drifted through the air and lazed about on the moonlit shores of Lake Elune'ara in a state of carefree bliss – or so it appeared on the surface.

A night elf noticed the sword Gary had. "Quel'Delar's Chosen? We've heard much about you and your previous accomplishments. It is good that you've come here just as Azeroth finds itself in a time of great need. Deathwing's minions are attacking Hyjal and seek to bring the destructive Firelord back into our world. The drakes will take you to join Malfurion's forces in Hyjal. Please, help them!" she begged.

"They're attempting to summon Ragnaros?" the mage cried out in disbelief.

"Just as I feared," Jessie sighed. "The tree is in danger."

Very soon after this exchange, the heroes were flying on dragonback, once again led by Kai at the front of the flock. As they approached the massive mountain to the south, Gary said "God, I can feel the Well's power all the way out here!"

Nobody replied. Eventually, Brock spoke up. "Something is wrong. The presence of fire is much too strong." His sixth sense was confirmed as they reached the crest of a ledge. On the other side was a burning field of lava and stone, masked under smoke.

Kai seemed uneasy. "I sense Deathwing nearby! Is it too late?"

Misty let out a shriek. "_There!_" She pointed at the molten dragon, barely visible through the smoke, as he descended upon the flaming field. The drakes wheeled about in confusion and panic, attempting to hide from him in the smoky veil. Lava suddenly exploded up from the pool and a flaming figure rose up to meet Deathwing's gaze.

"The Firelord has risen!" one of the green drakes shrieked. "We must send word to the others!" The dragons flew as fast as they could to the world tree.

Gary seemed totally awed by the Well of Eternity. "The power is… overwhelming! So much arcane energy!"

Ash snapped at him. "We just saw Deathwing summon Ragnaros and that's what you're focusing on? That's not important right now, Gary! Get your priorities straight!"

"Uh, right. Sorry…"

They landed just outside the building under the roots of Nordrassil. The heroes leapt off their dragons and rushed inside. Druids were gathered around a night elf woman with dragon horns. She was dressed entirely in green. The horns gave her away as the green aspect Ysera.

"Lady Ysera!" Misty called out. "Deathwing is here! He-" Everyone began to speak at once.

"I feel it too," Ysera interrupted, silencing everyone. "Ragnaros has risen. Your arrival is timely – I sensed you would be coming. We must defeat the Firelord's minions before he can join them and lend them his strength. Seek Malfurion Stormrage at the Tranquil Grove, west of here, and aid his forces in any way you can. I must seek answers from within the Emerald Dream. _You_ must protect the world tree until I return."

"Right," James said. The heroes turned to leave – all but one, distracted entirely by the Well.

Misty grabbed him by the collar of his tunic. "_Come __**on**__, Gary! Now is not the time!_"

"But-!"

"_**No!**_"

XXX

"Make no mistake about this, children. The outcome of this war will determine the very survival of our world as we know it. The Twilight's Hammer has become more powerful than ever with Deathwing's return. Should they succeed in taking over the world tree, they might strike a blow from which we will never recover. It is time we beat back the enemy. It is time we crushed the Twilight's Hammer," Malfurion said. The winged night elf man with antlers pointed to a burning grove.

The beautiful land was scarred by the forces of flame. Tall pine trees were burnt to charcoal, the giant white flowers reduced to ashes. The flames could not, however, reach the banks of the streams of glowing, sparkling water that ran down from the peak of Hyjal. The water was clearly runoff from the Well of Eternity, and its magical effects were still strong. A battle raged in the burning wood, where fire elementals and Twilight Cultists clashed with ancient forest guardians and druidic defenders.

Quel'Delar's Chosen soon joined the fray, but they were rusty, and the Twilight's Hammer much stronger than expected. Misty had to call her friends off frequently to recover her mana. Ash was slow and unable to defend himself well against the Cultists, while James was still relearning his abilities. Jessie and Gary both kept spacing out and getting injured – probably due to sudden exposure to such concentrated magic. With the others at reduced efficiency, and Brock learning quickly, he was performing almost as well as they were. Kai was the only one who retained all his skill. He unleashed his draconic fury, shredding cultists with his claws and teeth, burning them to crisps with his dragon flame. Meowth frequently missed his target, his arrows hitting trees and rocks instead of the enemy. It was not all bad, though, as the other pokemon were as sharp as ever, having been at least practicing with friendly battles for the past year. The spellcasters, for all their attention span issues, were casting much more powerful magic due to the influence of the Well's powers. This fight was merely a warm-up for their long-dormant skills.

XXX

"The druids of Hyjal are not the only ones sworn to defend this land. The emerald dragons have once again become a powerful ally to our cause," the tauren woman who stood by Malfurion told the heroes. "Speak to Alysra at the Ruins of Lar'donir, to the north, and see what you can do to help."

The heroes did as they were told, riding to the Highborne ruins just beyond the cliff the world tree grew upon, where the massive green wyrm stood, watching through closed eyes. She greeted them without looking at them.

"We're here to help," Gary offered eagerly. He had been in a great mood ever since arriving at Hyjal's summit.

"My duties are here, viewing the enemy's movement from above, commanding our armies where they're needed, so I cannot attend to the tasks that need to be done. Your aid would be most welcome. The battle has reached a stalemate, one that I fear is about to be broken by the Firelord's reawakening. That is unless we tip the scales in our favor in some way."

Gary started laughing. "Scales, hehe! Get it? Dragons have scales…"

"What's wrong with you?" Misty snapped. He just grinned at her.

Alysra cleared her throat and continued. "There is a scout that was captured by the Twilight's Hammer. I believe she was in possession of valuable intelligence. Find her in the Twilight camp to the west."

XXX

The mage became more coordinated as they headed west, away from the world tree, though he fell off of his horse while they were still relatively close to Nordrassil. When asked if he was okay, he only giggled like an idiot.

"Okay, you are _so high,_ Gary. What have you been smoking and why haven't you been sharing it with me?" the warrior asked, helping the mage to his feet. Brock smacked the back of Ash's head lightly.

The mage laughed, grinning broadly. "I dunno what you're talking about, Ash."

Jessie wasn't acting nearly so drugged, but she, too, was under the influence of the Well's power. She giggled a bit at seeing Ash smacked.

"It's the Well, I bet," James commented, as they continued riding west. "I bet all that arcane energy is what's making them act this loopy. They're higher than kites… Gary especially."

The two spellcasters laughed. Misty just put her hand on her face and sighed. The two seemed to sober up as they went farther from the tree, though they were still certainly in a very good mood from it. At least they were acting mostly sane again.

Quel'Delar's Chosen found their way to the Twilight encampment and fought to the prisoner, picking up the key as they went. They unlocked the cage.

"Thank you so much for freeing me! I'll go back to Nordrassil and tell the others what I've found. The Twilight's Hammer does not just seek to gain territory with this particular attack. They're also after a prisoner. Fandral Staghelm is being held in the Barrow Dens. The attack doubles as a distraction to free him. To what end, I cannot tell. Perhaps our dragon ally can shed some light on this."

XXX

"The Twilight's Hammer wants to free Fandral Staghelm? Malfurion suspected his corruption ran deep... this just cements it. At any rate we cannot allow our enemies to get their hands on such a powerful arch druid. I've a plan, mortals. We will move the prisoner through the Emerald Dream. It will be risky, but with all the cultists present here it might be the only way to guarantee our success. Speak to Saynna Stormrunner inside the Barrow Dens to the northeast."

"So you want us to enter the Emerald Dream and get Standral Faghelm, err, Fandral Staghelm?" The mage laughed at his own mistake. "Haha, Standral Faghelm…"

Misty finally slapped him across the face. "_Just stop talking, Gary!_"

"Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"You're completely high off the Well's energies. You have no idea what you're saying and you're just making a fool of yourself – and the rest of us! So shut up!"

"Perhaps we should leave the spellcasters here," Brock suggested. "It might be a bad idea to take them into the Dream in this state. Besides, maybe if they're left exposed to the magic for a while, the effects won't be so pronounced."

"Let them build up a tolerance, you mean," James said.

"Exactly."

"That sounds like a pretty good idea," Ash said. "Even though I'm absolutely getting a kick out of seeing Gary completely stoned like this."

"I'll stay back and keep an eye on dem," Meowth offered. "You know, so dey don't cause trouble for Alysra here."

XXX

Misty, Ash, Brock, James, and Kai entered the Emerald Dream, their new prisoner in tow. The green vegetation they'd seen in the physical world on their way through to get Fandral was twisted here – the Emerald Nightmare was in full effect. The plants were brown and thorny, hidden amongst the green fog that cast all sorts of strange shadows and molded itself into vivid shapes. It was cold, which wasn't the only thing chilling Quel'Delar's Chosen – there was a constant feeling of something watching them.

Shadows moved and lurked, flitting at the corners of the heroes' vision, taking a different form for each one of them. For Misty, the shadows were spiders, their spindly legs and giant fangs twitching and skittering silently. For Brock, they were the rotting yet animate corpses of children – his siblings. He could even hear faint, twisted laughter.

"_Ash, help me!_" a voice screamed.

"_What was that?_" the warrior yelped.

"W-what was what?" Misty asked. "I didn't hear anything." She glanced around nervously. The spiders were always at the edge of her vision, yet she could never look directly at one. They always moved, as though trying to get behind her, to attack from behind.

"I could have sworn I heard…" Ash trailed off. It had sounded exactly like his mother. "It… sounded so real…" A door creaked and then slammed – what door? There were no doors in the Barrow Den. "You did hear _that one_, though, right?"

"_That_, I did hear," Kai answered. Suddenly, Deathwing reared up in front of him from nowhere, his eyes gleaming madly! The drake let out a reptilian scream of horror and bolted down a side corridor.

"Kai, what's wrong?" Ash asked, running after him. The others followed. They found the dragon quite some distance away from the path they'd been following. He was curled up in a ball, shivering.

"Come on, it's okay," Brock reassured him. "It was just an illusion, whatever you saw."

James froze. It couldn't be! It must have been an illusion, he knew, but he could have sworn he saw the Lich King come at him with Frostmourne. No, Arthas was dead and Gary had destroyed Frostmourne over a year ago. It just looked so real.

"_Your will is not your own, death knight. I will rechain you to the Scourge. We are not defeated._" The voice of a dead man echoed through the halls.

"This is Hell," James said with a shudder. The others nodded silently.

"I heard it again," Ash said suddenly. "You can't hear that?"

"What, the Lich King?" James asked.

"What's the Lich King got to do with anything? Sounds like my mother screaming for help."

"The Nightmare's playing tricks on all of us," Kai said. "Oh, I just want out of here… I don't know how long I could stay here without going mad."

"I'm with you on that one," Brock answered.

A massive spider with long, chitinous legs and a hairy body lunged at Misty with its fangs raised, its eight red eyes glowing wickedly. She screamed and threw her arms around Ash as she started crying.

"Um…" He tried to comfort her by patting her shoulder awkwardly, unsure of what had scared her. "Don't cry, Misty. It's just an illusion."

"I just want to get out of here!"

"Yes," James said, "we're trying. We all want out of here. It's right this… err… maybe that way? Um…"

Ash bit his lip. Would they be stuck in the Nightmare forever? Was _this_ how they would die?

"Let's leave a trail somehow. So we know where we've been," Misty suggested.

"Just draw a line in the dirt," Kai said.

"The floor is stone, Kai," Brock said.

"But it was dirt a minute ago…"

"I hate this place," Ash said. A pair of shadows moved at the edge of his vision – a woman, his mother, held her hand up as though to block a blow and cowered as a man lifted a knife. A scream echoed through the chambers as the knife came down on Deliah and she slumped to the floor. _Just illusions,_ Ash told himself, _just shadows and illusions and nightmares._

"Oh, damn it, I wish we had brought Gary with us. He could conjure bread and we could use that to mark our trail," Brock said, regretting his offer to leave the spellcasters behind.

"We could use coins," Misty said uneasily. She was willing to throw money away to get out of that horrible place. She jumped back into Ash's arms – she could have _sworn_ she felt bugs crawling on her!

"Coins it is," James said. The cold reminded him of being dead. He could hear the Lich King whispering in his head again, urging him to kill his friends. He just wanted out.

XXX

"There you are, children. You've been gone for three hours."

"It was Hell, Alysra," Ash said.

"Well, you did a good job. I will take Fandral to Moonglade myself. He'll be far enough from the warfront there. In the meantime, report back to Ysera when she returns from the dream."

The emerald haze cleared and the heroes sighed with relief as they collapsed upon the warm ground. The Nightmare was over.

XXX

Gary and Jessie were not acting nearly so drugged, though they were clearly still under some influence, as they were still in a great mood and smiled a lot. Once again, at least they were acting sane. After so long away from magic entirely, being suddenly introduced to such a high concentration as the Well of Eternity had been like taking a hard drug after breaking a gateway habit.

The others were incredibly glad to see them. Misty ran over to Gary and buried her face in his shoulder. "Misty, what's the matter?"

"The Emerald Nightmare… it was horrible! We were lost, and the shadows were monsters and it was just awful…"

James collapsed against a pillar. "I saw the Lich King. I heard him again. It was like I was a part of the Scourge again…" Jessie patted his shoulder comfortingly.

After those who had entered the Dream recovered, they rode back to Nordrassil. As they reached the Well's banks, the spellcasters again started to act slightly high, but after about half an hour's wait, they were back to normal, or at least tolerably close to normal. The fighters took off their armor and sat on the grassy, flower-covered hills under the shade of Nordrassil's massive roots. The shade was welcome on that warm day. They contentedly watched the magical lake glow and sparkle.

Gary got up without warning and walked over to the druids. He began talking to one, who nodded. The others couldn't hear what he was saying.

"What's he up to?" Misty asked, not really expecting an answer.

"No idea," Ash replied. They watched as the mage approached the Well.

Misty was suddenly alert. "Is he going near the Well of Eternity? No, no, no! I don't like where this is go-" Gary took off his tunic, causing Misty to interrupt herself. "_Ooohh_…"

Ash laughed. "Oh, lucky Misty gets to see Gary shirtless."

She glared sideways at him. "You just wish you had such a nice body."

"Oh, trust me, I've got all that and more…" Being a warrior, he wasn't kidding. He flexed one arm and they both laughed. Misty then went back to keeping an eye on Gary as he waded into the Well of Eternity up to his lower chest. Then he dove in and swam down out of sight.

Opening his eyes underwater, Gary could see through the mild glow that the Well was much, much deeper than expected. He couldn't see the bottom of it, not that he would have been able to anyway, since the world tree's roots crisscrossed below him. The roots had streaks of light on them, which the sections above the water lacked. These streaks were mesmerizing, glittering many different colors. The mage shut his eyes and just held his breath. Then, the visions came.


	10. Strength of Lo'Gosh

Gary returned to the surface. It felt like he'd been underwater for hours, surrounded by the images, but it couldn't have been more than a minute, because he wasn't panicking for lack of air. He shook the Well's water from his hair, which hung over his face in dark clumps. He brushed it out of his eyes and swam back to shore. The mage climbed out of the lake and cast a spell to dry himself off. His hair returned to its normal spikiness as he put his tunic back on.

A few minutes later, a druid came out to tell Quel'Delar's Chosen that Ysera had come out of her trance. Gary, for one, was eager to speak with her – he had so much to tell her, so much for her to explain to him!

"Welcome back," the dragon aspect greeted the heroes, her voice dreamy and soothing. "During my stay in the Dream, I learned that the rift weakening the boundaries of this world has hastened the return of powerful allies. We'd do well to usher them into this world very soon. Their timely aid will prove indispensable."

"Allies?" Gary asked. "Um, Lady Ysera, while you were in a trance, I swam out into the Well, and I had visions. I was hoping you'd be able to explain them to me. Perhaps they're of the allies you're talking about?"

Ysera sat down on a bench and gestured for the others to do the same. Brock was trying _very_ hard not to stare at her rather revealing outfit. The dragoness didn't seem to notice, though. "Go on, Gary… Tell us what you've seen in the Well."

"Well, the first thing I saw was a giant white wolf, battling with a black one with red eyes. Worgen stood all around them, howling like mad. Then I saw a winged woman hatching from an egg, kinda like a harpy but much prettier. The white wolf and the woman were both wearing lightning bolt necklaces. After that, I saw, well, I don't know if you know what this is, but I saw a Cascade Badge with flames burning all around it in a forest – and it was like the badge repelled the fire. A spirit of some sort – a wisp, or a night elf, or something, she was too faint for me to see exactly what she was – came down and lifted the badge into the sky."

Gary paused his story long enough for the other trainers to explain the concept of badges to the dragon aspect. Misty thought for a moment, then spoke up. "My sisters and I have the authority to hand out the Cascade Badge. I wonder why it appeared in your visions? What's it got to do with Azeroth?" The mage shrugged.

"Very well," Ysera said. "You may continue telling of your vision, Gary."

"There was a giant tortoise, too, carrying a boulder on its back. The ground around him split and he was left on an island in the middle of a lake of lava, but he was able to float to safety by putting the boulder in the lava and climbing onto it. After that, the moon appeared, and a white stag leapt out of it. The stag had a wreath of oak leaves around his neck, and a pair of Volcano Badges hanging from his antlers, but the badges burst into flames and burned him until he collapsed – at first I thought he was dead. It began to rain and the water put out the flames, and then the stag got back up and seemed stronger than before. And that's where the vision ended."

Ysera put a hand on her chin and thought deeply. "Well, I can tell you who these creatures are, but not much else. The white wolf is Goldrinn, known even to the orcs. They call him Lo'Gosh, the ghost wolf. He perished in the War of the Ancients. The winged woman is Aviana, the sky goddess. She, too, was slain ten thousand years ago, in the very same war. The spirit with the Cascade Badge is Aessina, the nature spirit. Why she would be associated with a water badge in your vision, I'm not sure – she is the spirit of all parts of nature, not just water. Perhaps water will play a key role in her return. The tortoise is Tortolla, an ancient creature who took part in the war. The stag is clearly Malorne, consort of Elune, known to the tauren as Apa'ro. Oh, I still remember so vividly seeing him dead among the filthy demons…" Ysera sighed sadly, then continued. "He is most certainly not associated with fire, so I do not understand the presence of the Volcano Badges."

"I'm sure it will all make sense soon," Ash said.

"Aside from Tortolla, each of these Ancients has a shrine here in Hyjal. Perhaps if we help the keepers of the shrines, we can hasten the return of the Ancients. It may be too late for the Sanctuary of Malorne, for it has already been destroyed," the aspect said. "Let's start with Goldrinn. We have operatives stationed at Wolf's Run. Aid them in any way that you can and work your way to the first shrine."

XXX

The tauren woman didn't bother to greet the heroes. "Ysera sent you? Good. We need all the help we can get. We'll never be able to recover the shrines to the ancients so long as Twilight's Hammer controls the roads. Somehow we've got to stem the flood."

The night elf added "While you're at it… Cho'gall's Twilight Proveditors swear a blood oath that they will get their supplies through to the front, pledging a pound of their own considerable flesh for every pound of supplies they fail to deliver. They would rather die than fail. _See to it that they do both_.

Also, Prisoners of the Twilight's Hammer are forced to lug around sundries for the war effort, like common pack animals. I want those supplies, and if we can free a few poor souls from the Hammer's shadowy grip, all the better. Kill the slave drivers along the road to our south and nearby slaves should make a break for it. Search the packs they leave behind for anything valuable, and destroy anything you can't carry."

Quel'Delar's Chosen hid in the bushes, waiting for the Twilight Proveditors. Meowth readied an arrow. Ash drew his swords and crouched on one knee, ready to lunge. Gary and Jessie silently prepared their spells. Misty stayed well hidden, while James rested the tip of his runeblade on the ground as he knelt behind her, ready to defend the healer – for she was the heart of the group. He would attack last; let the others cause confusion first. Brock knelt behind a stone, selecting a totem from his necklace to set up as soon as combat started. Finally, an ogre and a human, with four slaves following behind with massive packs on their ready-to-snap backs, appeared. Meowth let the arrow loose. It struck the human in the chest, and he slumped to his knees.

"_Lok'tar ogar!_" Ash shouted, charging out of the bushes. It caught the cultists completely off-guard! A fireball and shadowbolt shot out of the plants, slamming into the ogre's side. Ash was a furious whirlwind of blades, slicing up everything that got in his way. The ogre moaned and collapsed, its blood splashing up into Ash's face. He wiped the blood away from his eyes. The human tried to escape, but Kai ran out and tackled him to the ground. They struggled there for a moment before James rushed to the dragon's aid and put his sword through the man's neck.

The slaves dropped the bags and ran away. "Alright, let's get these back up to the camp," Ash said, grabbing one of the bags. If he dragged it, he could move it by himself, but it would be much easier if someone helped him. Jessie pushed on the massive container from behind, and it moved much more easily.

Gary took the smallest bag, but hard as he tried to pull it, his feet just slid. He turned around and tried to walk backwards with it, but even straining, he couldn't budge it. Misty giggled. "This is really embarrassing…" he muttered.

Misty took hold of the bag that Gary was having so much trouble with. Straining as hard as she could, she was able to move it – barely. Even so, she proved Ash's earlier point: even Misty was physically stronger than Gary. Together, they were able to pull it along. Brock called out his onix to help with the last bag, which was the largest. He and James were able to get it onto the pokemon's back and sat down on either side of it as the rock snake made its way slowly up the mountain.

The night elf pulled a box out of one of the sacks and kicked it open. She picked up a curved dagger. Immediately she dropped it and winced. "It's cursed! It bites!" As it hit the ground, it shattered like brittle glass. "What demented workmanship is this? I've never fought a foe like this."

XXX

"Our new worgen allies have been drawn to the memory of the wolf god – go figure – and were in the process of cleaning up the shrine. I haven't heard anything from my contact, Ian Duran, in days. Can you fly down there and find him? I've got a bad feeling that Goldrinn's shrine is in trouble..."

The adventurers rode down to the shrine, and sure enough, there was trouble. There were fires everywhere. Feral-looking worgen ran about with torches clenched between their teeth. Just across the pond, there was a twisted Twilight's Hammer encampment. The ground turned black beneath the cultists' tents. Strange coils of black metal grew upward like vines. Shadows flickered over them in ways that should not be possible.

"Damn," James said, "they're _everywhere!_"

"Over there," Kai said, pointing at some cages. The heroes rushed over to find Ian and his allies. "We're here to help."

"You're here to rescue me? Good." Ash tried to pry the lock off the cage. "No, no, don't worry about the cage for now. My life isn't important. We've got to save the shrine, first. The beasts you see here, they're no longer my brothers from Gilneas. They've been corrupted by some kind of madness, and they've taken over the shrine. They came when the Twilight's Hammer arrived in Hyjal, and they howl the name of some blasphemous mockery of our beloved Goldrinn. Forget about me – destroy these vandals before they continue to defile the shrine. As you destroy them, look for the incense they carry and bring me some samples."

"We'll return soon, Ian," Ash assured the Gilnean. He then turned and charged into combat, forcing his companions to follow along. To add personal bite to his attack on the vandals, he shouted "Lok'tar Lo'Gosh!" For once, the others echoed him instead of using their own battle-cries.

The worgen put up quite a fight. Ash thought that parrying barehanded attacks with a sword would be easy and even helpful – not so with worgen. Their long claws essentially gave them a fistful of swords, tough as steel and sharp as razors. They could parry his blows with ease, be blocked without harm, and in their frenzy, could slice right through his armor! Worse still, they came in packs. He could not fight just one, for two or three others would always come to their friend's aid. Ash would have been done for were it not for his own allies.

James helped hold the monsters back, ensuring that Ash only had to deal with one or two at a time. The death knight kept the others busy. He couldn't attack very much – his heavy two-handed weapon was much slower than Ash's swords, and the worgen were quick. It was all he could do to infuriate them by deflecting all of their attacks.

Pikachu darted about as quickly as possible, as wolfmen chased it on all fours. Now and then, the electric mouse shocked its pursuers with agonizing force. Vaporeon knocked them off ledges or into sharp stones – the corners of tables and bases of pillars – with powerful hydropumps.

Meowth perched atop Jessie's shoulder as she threw shadowbolts. The cat pokemon sniped incoming worgen with arrows before they could ever reach Ash and James, yet even then, some of the beasts continued in their blood frenzy even with arrows sticking out of their faces. Gary's searing flames only further angered those that survived. Still, it was a comfort, a small comfort, to the melee fighters to see pyroblasts and shadowbolts fly past their shoulders and knock the wolfmen to the ground, to see arrows strike worgen dead in their tracks.

Brock slowed the incoming wolfmen even more by manipulating the stone beneath their feet into sharp spikes and impaling them or at least providing an obstacle in a technique called earth shocking. His onix was too big to be of any use in the shrine yard – it would only further damage the structures. Kai, on the other hand, in his dragon form, was small and nimble enough not to cause problems, but large enough to be a threat. He shredded the wolfmen as they came at him, but some were able to climb onto his back and start slashing and biting at him.

"Absol, go!" Gary released his pokemon onto the battlefield. With a snarl, it charged into combat, fighting with a feral ferocity to match the wolfmen's. Claw against claw and tooth against tooth, it tumbled with the worgen and crashed into pillars and fell off small ledges, locked into combat with them. Its white fur was quickly matted with blood, both its own and its opponents'. A worgen slashed it across the face, and it cried out, but the pokemon would not be beaten. Absol caught the worgen's claws with its own and lunged forward, clamping its jaws down on the wolfman's neck.

Jessie summoned her demonic minion. The succubus arrived, brandishing her whip. "Brylith," the warlock commanded, "distract some of the worgen as best you can." Brylith rushed off. Wolf or not, they were still _men._ Most, if not all, would still be vulnerable to seduction. Needless to say, Brock's combat efficiency dropped dramatically.

One by one, the worgen fell. As fewer and fewer could gang up on the heroes at a time, Ash grew bolder. The spirit of battle empowered him. He did not slow down or stop, even when his target fell. Despite the claw marks across his armor and face, he was in a blood frenzy and simply sought out a new foe for each one that fell. It was the thrill of battle that kept him going. He felt no pain.

As the healing stress on Misty lessened, she could join the assault. The worgen reacted to her exorcisms and judgements as though they were demons – the darkness of the Twilight's Hammer had corrupted their souls.

Finally, Quel'Delar's Chosen stood panting over the bodies of the worgen. The pond was red with spilled blood, the white columns and statues of the shrine spattered with crimson.

"Alright," Brock said, "let's… uh…. erm… gahhh…" Jessie dismissed the succubus, who returned whence she came. The shaman cleared his throat awkwardly. "Well, then, let's loot the corpses, find the incense, and head back to Ian."

They gathered up a few bottles of the sickeningly-sweet incense and went to the cages with them. "Worgen like myself were drawn to the story of Goldrinn, his strength and wisdom. But these vandals… they worshiped a different aspect of the wolf god entirely," Ian said sadly. "Alright, let's see what we can find out." Ash handed him a bottle of the gag-inducing incense. "It is as I suspected. The bottles bear the marks of the Twilight's Hammer. And here, the name 'Lycanthoth.' I believe these are used in a summoning ritual." Ian paused for a minute, thinking deeply. "I think I understand what's happening here. The Twilight's Hammer fears that the ancients may someday rise up to oppose them. They'll do anything to stop the return of Goldrinn. This 'Lycanthoth' is a twisted version of our beloved wolf god, summoned by the Twilight's Hammer to replace him. Bah! It is but a shadow of Goldrinn's power. Heroes, kill this beast so that the true ancient can return. Take this incense and burn it in the Maw of Lycanthoth east of here. Slay that beast and free Goldrinn!"

As Quel'Delar's Chosen, approached the Maw, Kai spoke up. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Ash asked.

"Howling." They stopped and listened. Sure enough, worgen could be heard howling in the distance. "Never mind that. What's important is killing Lycanthoth."

They arrived at the cave. A candle-covered altar with a dish for incense sat in the middle of it. "Alright, let's get this over with." Ash drew one of his swords and popped the incense bottle open with the other hand. As he stepped into the cave, though, he heard a fierce growl. He spun to see a worgen on all fours outside the cave, snarling at his friends. It didn't seem to have seen him. Three more jumped down from atop the cliff the cave sat in.

Ash moved to help his friends but Misty told him "No! Go! _Go! Kill Lycanthoth now!_" The warrior nodded and hurried to burn the incense. It seemed to cast shadows rather than light. The smell made him gag. The sounds of combat outside echoed in the small cavern as the shadows gathered into a shape and solidified – a black wolf with glowing red eyes.

"Log'loth og shandai, human. Only death is eternal. You will be undone."

"Come then, enemy of Lo'Gosh," Ash challenged Lycanthoth as he drew his other sword. "We'll see whose strength is greater."

"Very well. Fate subjugates faith, mortal. Your prayers are meaningless here."

"Faith? You want to talk faith, talk to Misty. I am a warrior! Lok'tar ogar!"

Lycanthoth howled and lunged at Ash. He leapt out of the way and spun around, slashing the wolf's flank with his swords. The great wolf turned around and clamped his jaws down on the warrior's arm, crushing his armor like a tin can. Ash cried out in pain.

Through the sounds of the battle raging outside, he heard Brock's voice. "Ash, are you okay?"

The warrior looked his opponent in the eyes, grinned challengingly, and replied "Never been better!" With that, he drove his other sword deep into Lycanthoth's shoulder. Without letting go, the wolf yelped. It then reared up and threw Ash across the cave. He slammed into the wall with a loud crash that echoed and rang in his ears.

Ash was not so easily defeated. He snarled at the wolf and dragged himself to his feet. "I'm just warming up!" The two of them circled for a minute. Then, the warrior charged. He slashed both ways across the wolf's face, then turned, flipping his sword around in his hand to face backwards, and slammed it into the dark spirit's side. Lycanthoth's scream was amplified by the chamber. Ash ripped his sword out of the wounded wolf's side, but didn't turn back to face him in time. The black wolf snapped him up, his jaws clenched around the warrior's waist, and shook him back and forth like a rag doll. He dropped Ash at his feet.

"Give in, mortal."

"Lok'tar ogar – victory or death. I mean what I say." Ash, trembling with the effort, got to his feet again and glared at the wolf, who almost seemed to be laughing at him. Suddenly, with a furious battle-shout, Ash lifted both of his swords and drove them directly into the wolf's face. The resultant explosion knocked him off his feet.

When he stood again, a massive white wolf stood before him. Its voice, calm, deep, and soothing, echoed powerfully in the chamber. "Your bravery is an inspiration to others, warrior. Tell me your name."

Battered and bloodied, the trainer knelt. "My name is Ash Ketchum, and I am one of Quel'Delar's Chosen."

"You were brave to face down Lycanthoth, Ash. Like myself, he was a primal force of nature... but his origins were from a darker place. Those who birthed that beast reached deep into the blackness, channeling powers never intended for this world. Come, warrior. Climb onto my back, and let us show these beasts the true face of ferocity!" The warrior climbed up onto the massive white wolf. With a fearsome howl, he charged out of the cave. The battle still raged outside – more worgen had arrived!

Lo'Gosh didn't even slow down. He simple charged through them, trampling them, crushing them in his jaws. The other adventurers stared in awe. The white wolf didn't stop. He continued toward the cages.

"That's it!" Ash heard the mage shout. "That's the wolf from my visions! That's Goldrinn!"

"Be freed!" the wolf said, stopping momentarily by the cages. Lightning bolts shot down from the sky and utterly destroyed the cages holding Ian and his allies, without harming the people within. Goldrinn howled again and charged into the camp. The few remaining worshippers of Lycanthoth fell easily to his might.

He then allowed Ash to climb down off his back by the marble wolf statue at the top of the shrine hill. The other adventurers, along with Ian and his friends, came running up the hill a few minutes later.

"_That was incredible!_" Gary exclaimed.

"_I've never seen anything like that!_" Brock added.

"Absolutely amazing," Jessie commented.

"Yes, heroes, I am Goldrinn. Ash's persistence in the face of fear has unbound me from twilight's grasp. My shrine has been purified, and my worshippers have returned to their rightful place at my right paw. Return to Ian and continue your work here in Hyjal. I will have need of you again soon."

XXX

"I heard on the news that even the Elite Four are getting in on the whole Twilight Cult hysteria. Maybe it is to be taken seriously after all," the rocket grunt said to her companion, as she picked the lock.

"Don't be stupid," he told her. "The Boss says it's all bullshit. Just take advantage of the panic to get more loot, got it?"

"Yeah, I know, but…"

"Just pick the lock. Officer Jenny's been prowling around. Let's hurry it up and get out of here!"

XXX

"Thanks to your efforts, we may soon be able to return this shrine to its former glory. But first we've got to secure this valley. South of here, a group of ogres led by Gar'gol has set up camp in a stinking hovel," Ian said. "I wouldn't characterize Gar'gol as a 'threat' so much as an enormous fleshy obstacle thrown into our path to distract us from the real danger. Nonetheless, he and his goons will have to be dealt with. So far as I can tell, Gar'gol is taking orders from a magical instrument: "The Eye of Twilight." He follows its commands unquestioningly. If we can sabotage the Eye, we can cause unimaginable havoc. Go to Gar'gol's hovel and seek out the Eye of Twilight near the entrance. Study it. Find a way to subvert it. Slay his minions. Ah, marvelous chaos!"

XXX

The heroes pushed forward through the caverns, leading with magic, then Ash and James defending the casters as Gary, Jessie, and Brock channeled their spells. It was a tried and true tactic that had never let them down, not once since the Deadmines. It felt empty without Starwisp, who had always been a part of it.

"This brings back bad memories," Gary muttered. "Too much like Nagrand." Nobody paid any attention to him as they mowed down the ogres. Finally, they found the leather-bound book. The tome was revealed to them when they investigated the Eye itself. Now, it was within their grasp. It was a horrid thing, bound in night elf skin. It was open on the table. The language – pictographic and scrawled in rust-colored ink, or perhaps blood – was undecipherable, but notes and translations were tucked between several pages. Brock picked up one of the notes and read it aloud.

"In the beginning was shadow eternal.

Hate blazed forth, and FIRE was born.

Wounds scabbed, and so begat EARTH.

Cries of anguish birthed howling WIND.

Wherein the skies wept SEAS of tears.

We live in the shadow, the world we know built of rage, hurt, anguish and sorrow."

He dropped the page back onto the book, an expression of shocked disgust on his face. "What is this? This is twisted! This is a disgusting mockery of shamanism! This isn't what the elements are about at all! Is _this_ what they believe? If I didn't know better I'd set fire to this foul thing." The shaman gritted his teeth, then set about activating the elemental devices around him in the order specified – fire, earth, wind, water.

Feeling the Eye's presence, Brock waved a hand at the others to keep them quiet. "I am the Eye of Twilight! Behold your new master! Your work in Hyjal is done; return whence you came! Kill _anyone_ who tells you otherwise! _So sayeth the Eye!_" He backed away from the book, and the Eye's presence left him. He broke down in a fit of laughter.

"'_So sayeth the Eye_'? You had too much fun with that, Brock." Misty laughed.

They were able to leave unhindered, for upon seeing the shaman, any ogre in their way backed off. Quel'Delar's Chosen arrived back at the shrine. The wolf ancient was gone. Ian was at the marble statue, praying. The sun was already hidden behind the mountains, and the sky was painted deep purple. Brock built a fire in the middle of the camp near the shrine, and the adventurers gathered around it.

Misty took the dragon egg out of the plane of storage, where she'd been keeping it during all the fighting, and unwrapped it from its blanket. She held it close to her chest, her arms wrapped around it as she used to do with Togepi's egg. She had to do this occasionally to keep it warm, though she wished she could keep it out all the time. It simply wasn't safe to do so, most of the time, but now, for the evening, there was blissful peace and a sense of safety. Gary sat down next to her and put an arm around her. The paladin smiled at him and rested her head on his shoulder, gazing into the fire happily.

Something cracked. At first, they thought it was the wood popping and crackling, but they heard it again – and this time the egg moved. Misty gasped and sat up straight. "What's up?" Gary asked.

"The egg! It's hatching!" Misty moved it to her lap and stared at it intently. Another crack, and part of the eggshell pushed up. "Come on, you can do it, little dragon…" The mage watched keenly over her shoulder. The other heroes quickly gathered behind Misty and Gary to watch. Part of the shell fell off the egg, and another section, the part that had pushed up earlier, popped up again, held on by a sticky membrane. Misty gently reached out and helped pull it off. The dragon whelp inside let out a cooing noise and blinked its large golden eyes, clearing them of egg fluid. It stared up at Misty as she pulled another section of the shell off, then lifted the tiny dragonling out.

"Oh… you're beautiful…" The paladin used her cloak to clean the egg fluid off the dragon, patting the small, crimson creature dry. She hugged it gently, and it nuzzled her neck, letting out a happy coo. Still holding the dragon against her chest, Misty looked at the dark-skinned boy crouching next to Gary. "Kai, is this whelp a male or a female?"

"Here, let me see it…" He reached out and Misty gently transferred the whelpling into Kai's arms. He held it up and turned it this way and that, examining its wings, its horns, its claws. "She's a female." He returned her to Misty's arms. "A beautiful little girl…"

Misty tickled the dragonling's belly with one finger and looked her in the eyes. "Well then, what shall we call you…?"

"Female red dragons have names ending in –strasza," Gary said.

"She's a symbol of our victory, so… Victorystrasza… Toristrasza. Yes… Your name will be Toristrasza." Misty hugged the whelp again, cradling her close. The mage smiled and put his arms around her again, this time around hers, so he was hugging both her and the dragonling.

"Toristrasza. That's a good name," Gary said. He kissed her cheek, and they gazed into the fire with their new baby dragon happily sleeping in their arms.

XXX

"Good morning, friends," Ian said. He turned to Ash. "Last night, I prayed at the shrine, and Goldrinn granted me a vision. I saw you standing atop the Lightning Ledge, with lightning in your hands. Goldrinn seems to feel that this is of the utmost importance, but I don't understand what the Ancient has planned. Ash, go to the Lightning Ledge. The Twilight's Hammer has been running experiments with something called a 'Lightning Channel.' Investigate these channels, then use this totem to summon the Spirit of Goldrinn and see what he has in mind..."

XXX

"This must be the Lightning Channel," Ash said, picking up an orb from an elaborate stand. It was clear, perfectly spherical, and entirely empty. "There's not much to it, is there?" Pikachu sat on its trainer's shoulder, staring at the orb. Without warning, it cried out "_Pika!_" and shocked the orb as hard as it could. Lightning bounced around inside the sphere, crackling and arcing. Ash smiled and summoned Goldrinn's spirit.

"So, it is true! You indeed carry lightning in your hands.

You are the Chosen One, Ash Ketchum. You will be my champion, and carry my vengeance to realms where I cannot tread..."

Misty let the whelp crawl down from her shoulder and into her arms as she said, "You know, Ash, being 'the Chosen One' seems to be a regular thing for you. When do I get a turn?"

The whole group chuckled. Though Lo'Gosh's mouth didn't move, he projected a sense of smiling.


	11. As the Crow Flies

"Nearby, there is a 'Flamegate', constructed by the Twilight's Hammer. I do not know where it leads; I know it is not of this realm, and I cannot enter. None of my other followers have returned," Goldrinn said. "I need you to enter this realm and be my fangs within. Step through the flamegate. If he is still alive, meet with Jordan Olafson inside. Be bold, Ash Ketchum, Wolf-Champion. Find out where that flamegate leads, and destroy whatever lies within."

XXX

"Ah, you are the champion Goldrinn promised! Your eyes don't deceive you: you have entered the Firelands, an elemental plane of molten stone and fire. We've got our work cut out for us here; I have some tasks for you. First, I need you to get rid of the elementals down here. We kill them over and over but they just reignite. I think there's a way to destroy them permanently: try crushing their cores. Secondly, the weapons the Twilight's Hammer uses against us are crafted by Forgemaster Pyrenduis within these very halls. The metal slices through armor like cheese in the hands of its wielder. Yet, when captured, the steel turns brittle and shatters. So be it, friends. I'd rather see those cursed arms smashed than delivered to our enemy. Seek out the crates of twilight arms in these caverns and smash them to pieces."

"Alright," Brock said, "so, smash elemental cores and Twilight weaponry. That we can do."

An orc woman beckoned the heroes over. "These Dark Iron laborers are finishing and packaging the weapons Twilight's Hammer hopes to use in their conquest of Hyjal. I don't care if they're here of their own free will or if they've been brainwashed or kidnapped... They're a foe of our beloved Wolf Ancient and they should pay the ultimate price."

"Isn't that a bit harsh? Killing them regardless of whether they chose to be here?" Misty asked.

"We can't very well interview each one and find out why they're here," Ash pointed out.

"True, I suppose," the paladin said. She frowned and gently hugged the red whelpling. Toristrasza was falling asleep from the heat of the Firelands. It was like a mother dragon's nest. She yawned peacefully and snuggled into Misty's chest.

Gary put his hand on the paladin's shoulder. "I'm sorry, Misty. Sometimes killing innocents can't be avoided." She nodded.

XXX

Brock placed the elemental core on an anvil and picked up a forging hammer. With a powerful swing, he brought the hammer down onto the fiery core with such force that it shattered. "And that's the last one."

Misty rummaged through boxes, pulling out swords and daggers and flinging them against the wall. Ash picked up whole crates and threw them with all his might across the chamber, shattering everything held inside. Gary and Kai dismantled the forges, simply pulling the place apart – ripping wooden shelves down from the carved sockets in the wall, kicking over buckets of cooling water, freezing the flames of the forges themselves, melting the ingots into puddles on the floor. Team Rocket prowled around outside the forging area, hunting down any escaped Dark Iron dwarves.

"All clear," James said.

Quel'Delar's Chosen surveyed the mess they'd made. "Well, that's that," Kai said.

They returned to Jordan, and received one final task.

"Heroes, a terrible evil squats in the heart of this cavern. Forgemaster Pyrendius has personally crafted many of the cursed weapons that Twilight's Hammer is using in their conquest of the realms above. Before we leave these lands of flame... Pyrendius must die. We will work on rigging the portal for its destruction, but you'll need to tackle the Forgemaster alone."

"We took down the Lich King," Gary said, shrugging. "How hard can _this_ be?"

"Don't jinx it!" Ash snapped.

"Well, we didn't have to babysit a dragon whelp when we took down Arthas, nor did we have Brock with us," Jessie pointed out.

XXX

Ash and James stood before the giant serpent-man. He resembled a naga, but his face was flat and he had long horns. His scales were orange, and he was much larger than most naga. Pyrendius belonged to a race known as salamanders – with no relation to their amphibious and ultimately harmless namesakes, these salamanders were evil, fiery creatures. He roared at the two swordsmen and slithered forward, wielding his warhammers.

Jessie called down a black meteor – a hand of Gul'dan. Gary started casting a frostfire bolt. Brock decided to expand upon the techniques he already knew and reached up to his necklace of totems, then set down the full-sized versions. He then cast lightning bolts. Pikachu followed his example. The salamander threw back his head and roared, twitching involuntarily from the shocks. He lashed out with his hammer and threw James backwards. The death knight crashed into Jessie and they both tumbled across the floor, nearly falling into the lava. They could feel the frost wards James and Gary had put up weakening from being so close to the magma. Misty ran over to heal them, Toristrasza perched on her shoulder with her tail wrapped around the paladin's neck to keep from falling off.

The paladin tossed her pokeball into the fray. "Vaporeon, hydro pump!" The pokemon did as it was commanded. The salamander screamed as the water drenched him. Steam poured upward at the impact.

Kai took his draconic form and charged forward, ripping the weakened salamander's now-flimsy body open with his talons.

XXX

"It is done! We'll seal this fiery hole up behind us and let the minions of the Twilight's Hammer discover the corpses we left behind. We couldn't have done it without you, heroes!

The rest of our forces at Mount Hyjal will want to hear of this victory. Return to Ian Duran and let him know what we've discovered and how we were triumphant!"

Quel'Delar's Chosen summoned their mounts and rode back to Ian and explained the situation.

"They're moving supplies to Hyjal straight from the elemental planes? That explains so much. You've made Goldrinn proud by sealing that flamegate, Ash – and the rest of you! – but there may be more portals to seal. You should check with the other shrines!"

"_Your expertise is needed elsewhere, Ash,_" a familiar voice said. Ash turned. Ysera – or a ghostly version of her, at least – was floating next to him.

"Where's that?" The others looked at him in confusion. Brock didn't seem to be reacting to the scantily-clad elf, which was the first thing that tipped Ash off that something wasn't entirely right.

"Are you talking to yourself again?" Misty asked.

"No, I'm talking to-… you… you can't see Ysera, can you?"

"_Only you can see me right now, Ash._"

"I thought as much," the warrior said to the invisible dragoness. The other heroes looked at each other. "Let me guess – you can't hear her either."

"Okay, now it's my turn to ask: what have you been smoking?" Gary said.

"Just shut up; the Dreamer is trying to talk to me."

"_Just southwest of the World Tree you will find the Shrine of Aviana, home to the Druids of the Talon. Aviana, the matron of all creatures of the air, gave her life for this world ten thousand years ago. I sense her shrine is being threatened, as are the druids who guard it. Seek out Choluna, one of the wisest of the winged druids, deep within the shrine_."

"We will. Guys, Ysera wants us to go to the Shrine of Aviana. She says we need to talk to Choluna about the dangers facing the shrine."

"Very well," Jessie said. They made their way up the mountain and toward the giant pine tree with a building carved out of the base.

"Hello, Choluna?" Ash called out. A tauren woman came out of a side room.

"Yes? Do I know you?"

"Ysera sent me – us. She said the shrine was in danger."

"Ysera herself sent you to me? Oh! It's an honor to speak with a representative of the aspects. It's true that our shrine is in jeopardy. The harpies we once sheltered in our boughs have suddenly turned against us."

"Well," Kai said, "we're here to help."

"Take this offering to Aviana's burial circle. Perhaps some time at her grave will strengthen you." Choluna held out a bowl of herbs to be burned. Ash took it gratefully and the heroes went outside to the circle of stones. A platform for the bowl stood in the middle. Butterflies of all colors floated around the circle. The warrior placed the bowl on the stand. Gary set fire to the herbs, and they gave off a sweet, tea-like scent, laced with the aroma of flowers.

Much to their surprise, a spirit appeared – a winged woman. "That's her!" Gary exclaimed, recognizing her from his vision. "That's Aviana!"

"Come… closer! They are pulling me away! To be born again, but in darkness… Hurry!"

"You heard da bird!" Meowth said, scampering off on all fours at top speed toward the shrine. The others ran after him. They nearly crashed into Choluna and all began speaking at once.

"Slow down! You look like you've all seen a ghost!"

"Aviana! We saw her spirit!" Ash blurted out. "She said she'd been stolen away to be born in darkness! She's in trouble!"

The tauren looked shocked. "There's no time to waste!" She rushed off into a back room and returned with a pure white feather – a petrified relic of Aviana herself. She performed a quick ritual, and a vision appeared. A woman in a black robe pointed at a large egg.

"_This is the one! The Ancient will be ours. Take the others to the Hatchery in the Firelands. Soon the skies will be ours!_"

Choluna blinked a few times. "I will report this to Skylord Omnuron. Don't trouble yourselves. Go rest now. You need it."

Quel'Delar's Chosen nodded. They headed up the stairs to the second floor, where they found two night elf women, one on a bench, with an owl perched nearby, the other sitting with one leg over the other on the edge of a table, cleaning her nails with a dagger. The one on the bench was very familiar.

"Starwisp!" Gary exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face. She looked up and returned the grin. The mage and the warrior both ran over to hug her. She laughed.

"My boys! How long it's been! What brings you back here? How have you been? Oh, it's so good to see you again!" She put one arm around each of them. "Oh, you're taller now! You've both grown, you know that?" They all laughed.

"We're fine, Starwisp. It's good to see you again, too," Gary said. He and Ash let go of the night elf. She then went over to Misty and hugged her gently.

"It's good to see you, too, Misty. Oh, who is this?" Starwisp tickled the dragon whelp's nose. Toristrasza playfully bit the elf's finger. Starwisp just laughed. The dragon's teeth were too small and blunt to do much harm. Then she shook Jessie's and James's hands.

"And who's this?" she asked, looking at Brock. The shaman was staring slack-jawed at her.

"Uh… guh… Brock… My name's Brock. Pleased to meet you, Starwisp!"

"Welcome to Azeroth, Brock."

"Who's your friend?" Ash asked, staring at the other night elf who was sitting on the table. She was young, younger even than Starwisp. Like the huntress, she was dressed in leather and feathers, but she had white leaves on her pauldrons, and a purple tattoo on her pretty face in the shape of a butterfly over her eyes and nose. Her blue hair was braided and tied into a pair of loops behind her ears.

"Crow," she introduced herself, "Thisalee Crow." She stopped cleaning her nails and looked at Starwisp. "Who are your friends, Windsong? Care to introduce them to me properly?"

The older night elf put a hand on the warrior's and mage's shoulders. "These two are Gary Oak, to my left, and Ash Ketchum, on the right."

"I've heard quite a lot about you, Oak. You too, Ketchum. Didn't expect you to be that cute though." She grinned impishly. Ash blushed. "You should hear the stories Windsong tells about you. She's so proud of 'her boys'!"

"The paladin girl is Misty Waterflower. A more valiant and heroic girl you'll never meet. Jessie Wilkes, and James Morgan, over there. Both powerful fighters."

"And I'm Brock Harrison," the shaman added. Thisalee nodded.

"Come, sit down," the younger elf said. "Make yourselves comfortable." They all gathered around to talk about how life had been. Brock sat down next to Starwisp and smiled charmingly – or he hoped it was charmingly – at her. She didn't seem to notice. Ash took a similar attitude toward Thisalee, who completely captivated him, even this soon after meeting. She was fascinating already, and he wanted to learn more.

The conversation drifted eventually to the subject of harpies.

"Skylord Omnuron has been too gentle with the Wormwing harpies, allowing them to share a perch on this mountain. Just because they're creatures of the air! Well, not all creatures of the air are created equal, Omnuron!" Thisalee said. "When the attacks on Hyjal began, the Wormwing went into a frenzy. They're up there now, assaulting a sacred shrine they once claimed to revere – go outside, take a look; they're above us. Filth."

"I'm shocked that they could turn on us like that." Starwisp gently stroked her owl's head. "It's so troubling. How creatures of the air can turn on their own matron like that."

"I'm not troubled. Now we have a reason to drive them from Hyjal, don't we?"

"We'll help fight them off," Ash offered.

"Would you?" Thisalee raised a long eyebrow calmly. "Now, see, Windsong? This is the kind of attitude I'm talking about!"

"I still think we should focus on rescuing the eggs," Starwisp said. "There's a pattern to these Wormwing attacks. While groups make a showy assault on the shrine itself, others swoop into the nearby nests and make off with eggs from all the flying creatures of Hyjal."

"Who says you can't do both at once? Kill the harpies, steal the eggs back. Simple."

"Well, I suppose that's true."

"We'll do it," Brock told Starwisp.

"Good," she said, unimpressed.

With that, the heroes left to fend off the harpies that were actively attacking the shrine.

XXX

Jessie placed the basket of bird eggs on the table.

"The birds who laid these eggs will never accept them again, so we'll have to raise these birds as orphans in the shrine here," Starwisp said. Aeroth hooted. "You'll help look after them, won't you, Aeroth?" He just hooted again stupidly.

"Were Aviana here, she never would've let this travesty happen," Thisalee said. She turned to the heroes. "Feels good to be off the leash, doesn't it? I dunno about you, but I like to get my talons dirty now and then." She grinned.

"Yeah," Ash agreed.

"Well, I think it's time to get to the bottom of this. We need to investigate the matron of these beasts, Marion Wormwing. We'll capture her alive. Here's the plan. The Harpies communicate across the ridge using a series of signal fires. If we extinguish one, Marion is sure to come investigate. You fight her as a distraction while I sneak up behind and grab her. I'll leave the questioning to you. Let's get her, Ketchum!"

"Alright!"

"I think the rest of us should stay behind," Gary said. "Too many of us and she'll think twice before attacking. Let Ash go alone so she actually thinks she can take him down."

"Alright," Misty said. "Besides, I think Tori is hungry. And she needs a nap." The dragonling yawned.

Thisalee shapeshifted into a purple raven with long, elf-like ears. "Let's get going then, Ketchum! We've got a harpy to interrogate!" Then she flew away. Ash got a bucket of water from the fountain and found one of the harpy signal fires. He dumped the water on it, and waited.

"Hey! Step away from that fire, human!" a coarse voice screeched. The harpy dove down at Ash, talons extended. He crossed his swords in front of him to keep her away. She cried out as she cut her feet on his blades, then tried to attack again, flapping around in front of him and clawing at his face. He held her off with his swords, slicing her feet apart as she attacked. A bird flew down behind Marion, shapeshifted into an elf, and grabbed her! Thisalee held a dagger to the harpy's throat.

"Gotcha, chickenlips! You'd best get talky, or I'll get stabby!"

Ash poked the harpy's belly with a sword. "Why are you stealing eggs?"

"You'll get nothing from me, human!"

He slashed her across the stomach – not deep enough to do any damage, just enough to hurt. She squawked in pain.

"Brutal. You're my kind of warrior, Ketchum," Thisalee commented. "There's more where that came from, Marion! Talk or Ketchum here will carve your guts out!" The harpy squirmed.

"I'll ask you again: why are you stealing eggs?"

"She asked for eggs. Eggs for her fiery hatchery in another realm. And one egg... a special egg... she sought more than any other."

"Who?"

"She of the skies, but also of darkness. Brood of the Earth Warden. Invincible!"

"Brood of the Earth Warden? You answer to a black dragon? Give me her name, harpy!" Ash brandished his swords menacingly.

"Foolish human! There is a new order. Aviana is dead. _**Dead!**_ And never coming back. Tell that to the druids in the trees! Sethria will soon be the master of the skies, and she has made sure that Aviana will never be reborn. The egg is hers. You are too late."

Ash sheathed his swords. Thisalee looked at him expectantly. "Well, warrior? Her life hinges on one sentence from you. That's all it would take."

He snorted in disgust at the harpy. After a moment's pause, he said, "Let her go. She wasn't directly attacking us like the others." Thisalee backed off and let the harpy fly away in a panic.

"You're a better person than I, Ketchum. But I suppose the harpies are only pawns here."


	12. Wings of Aviana

Ash returned to the shrine – Thisalee had gone ahead and flown back to report to Omnuron. The scene he returned to reminded him just how much had changed. Misty was humming quietly to the baby dragon in her arms. Starwisp was playing a game of chess with Gary. Kai was sitting next to the elf, helping her – which Gary called 'cheating', but neither one of his opponents cared. Gary's absol was sleeping under the chess table, Misty's vaporeon curled up on its back. Brock was in the corner, surrounded by his totems, meditating. James was sitting on a table, sharpening his runeblade. Jessie was reading a sinister-looking book that the warrior did not want to know the contents of. Meowth was eating a pear from a bowl of fruit set out for visiting adventurers. Yet, this whole scene was perfectly normal to Ash, despite him having a sudden realization that to most people from Kanto, the entire thing was completely absurd. He walked over to the bowl of fruit and picked up an apple. He offered it to the pikachu on his shoulder. The electric mouse hungrily took the fruit and started munching. The trainer selected another apple and followed his pokemon's example.

Soon, Skylord Omnuron showed up. "I've received both Choluna's and Thisalee's reports. It all makes sense now. Aviana will return to us, but only if we can stop the black dragon Sethria. We know that her roost is south of here, along the southern cliffs of Hyjal, but beyond that we know little else. I have sent Thisalee on a fact-finding mission to Sethria's roost.

She specifically requested your help, Ash – evidently you made quite an impression with the young druid. If you would meet Thisalee just beyond the tunnel leading to Sethria's Roost, the Druids of the Talon would be very appreciative. And remember, this is a fact-finding mission - don't do anything crazy!"

"Alright guys, it's adventuring time," Ash said.

"Perfect timing," Starwisp said, moving a chess piece. "Checkmate, Gary."

XXX

"Oh, there you are! I was hoping to see you out here. What, Omnuron calls this a 'fact-finding mission?' Bah! Facts are best found on corpses.

Let's do some damage." The elf cracked her knuckles and grinned.

"I like the way you think, Crow," Ash said. He was picking up her habit of calling people by their last name – she called him Ketchum, so he'd call her Crow.

"Well, first order of business is slaughtering all these dragonkin," Brock said. "Are these blue dragons, or what, Gary? They look almost purple to me."

"Not blue, but not black either. Twilight maybe?"

"Yes, twilight dragonkin. Do you see what they're doing here?" Thisalee said. "They're affixing armored plates onto the larger dragonkin. A page out of Deathwing's book, I suppose. Those Twilight Juggernauts look like they'll be invincible once they're complete. Let's take a look at some of those plates." Thisalee shapeshifted into a bird and flew toward the dragonkin. The others followed. Kai warned the druid of what he was about to do and took his draconic form.

Brock's onix once again proved devastating against dragons. It was easily able to push them off the cliff to their doom. Ash sliced the unarmored dragonkin to shreds as they reeled in pain from Misty's Light-based attacks – these were unholy creatures. Jessie and James, the local rune experts, gathered up the runed plates. Thisalee clawed at the dragonkin's faces while Gary prepared his fireballs. Kai rampaged about, destroying the filthy excuses for dragonkin that surrounded him. They were a blemish on the perfect race of dragonkind!

"The runes hurt my eyes," Jessie complained, squinting and trying not to look directly at the plates.

"They're dark runes, that's certain," James answered. "This one here, this is meant to sear flesh."

"But Thisalee said they're meant to be riveted directly into flesh!"

"I know. The pain must be unbearable."

Misty consecrated the ground as three dragonkin ganged up on her. They howled in rage and tried to attack her. She backed up to a rock and held the dragons back, putting up quite a fight. A fire blast struck one of the dragonkin, distracting it. The mage ran away, casting scorch spells over his shoulder as he did. Misty was able to take down the two remaining dragons on her own.

Aeroth swooped around, clawing at dragons randomly. Starwisp stood atop a boulder and picked her targets off one by one.

Ash slit a dragonkin's throat, then charged into the next one. It slashed at him with its own sword, but the warrior was too nimble. Thisalee dove down and tore a great gash into the creature's shoulder with her beak. It slashed her with its sword and she let out a pained squawk as she tumbled to the ground. She returned to her night elf form to heal herself. Ash stood in front to protect her from the angry dragonkin. He locked his sword against its and put his other blade through its chest.

"You're good at this, Ketchum. I like you." The night elf grinned at him and then returned to her bird form.

Pikachu and vaporeon worked together to get the dragonkin to the edge of the cliff, then pushed them off with powerful attacks. Absol acted as Meowth's bodyguard while the little archer did his job.

At last, they'd cleared the platform of all the animated dragons. The last few were in stasis – the Juggernauts. "Alright, let's take these things down. Pry the armor off!" James said. Meowth readied his dagger, as did Starwisp and Thisalee. The three of them attacked the nearest dragonkin, jamming the daggers under the armor and ripping the plates off the scaly flesh. Pulled out of stasis, the monster roared in agony. It didn't stand a chance against the full group of adventurers, nor did the others.

"What's this?" Jessie said suddenly, looking at a book. The adventurers gathered around. The book was written in many languages and had many carefully-inked illustrations of sorcerers, objects, and even buildings vanishing into cloaks of shadow. Some of them included images of objects like the ones seen throughout the camp.

"Invisibility spells," Gary said, recognizing the type of magic. "It's a different version than the one I use. Sethria's trying to hide-"

Thisalee interrupted him. "Of course – so our aerial scouts can't see anything with our eagle-eyes! Skylord Omnuron wants us to find Aviana's Egg, and I can almost guarantee you it's cloaked by one of Sethria's shadow devices."

"Brilliant, Crow," Starwisp said.

"I'll be right back," the druid said, taking her bird form and flying away to the shrine.

"Let's start dismantling these machines," Misty said, already starting to sabotage one. After breaking many, Ash finally found the egg, just in time for the druids to arrive in V-formation. Thisalee landed on Brock's shoulder.

"We've done it! There's just one last thing to wrap up here. I've persuaded my fellow druids to risk a direct assault on Sethria herself. Everyone agreed to my plan... provided _you_ spearhead the attack. When she shifts to her dragon form, we're to fire a signal flare and the other druids will come to help."

"I have plenty of flares," the huntress said.

"Then let's do this." Thisalee handed out ropes. "You're going to have to climb down that cliff. Kai, you and I will fly down and be ready to catch anyone who falls – that'll be mostly up to you, as the only one I could lift is the cat-thing." Misty gently placed Toristrasza on Kai's back. The whelp cooed sadly as the paladin left her there, but she clung to the drake's neck as he took flight.

Quel'Delar's Chosen tied the ropes into crude harnesses and fastened them to the pillars the Twilight's Hammer had erected. Hearts pounding, they set off rappelling down the cliff. Brock's hand slipped and he fell several feet before catching himself. Panting, he clung to the rope for dear life. Misty glanced down over her shoulder – the sheer drop below made her quiver and she felt sick. Starwisp shrieked as she fell down – Kai swooped in and caught her in his talons before she fell too far.

"What happened?"

"I'm not sure. Oh, thank Elune you were there, Kai."

This event did not make the others feel any more comfortable. They slowly, slowly made their way down the rock wall.

"Oh god," Ash muttered, "what the hell am I doing?"

Gary let out a sigh of relief as he reached the bottom of the cliff. Misty's adrenaline wore off a bit too early; she collapsed from the released tension a few feet above the ground. Gary caught her and they both tumbled to the ground. For a minute or two, they just lay there, too panicked and exhausted to get up. The entire group had reached the ground by this time and they gathered around to recover. The mage conjured water for everyone and once their heart rates had gone down, they were ready to attack the dragoness.

Ash charged in and tackled the black-haired woman to the ground. She threw him off with a blast of twilight energy. James cast a frost spell on her, then yanked her forward with his death grip spell. She tore herself away from his grasp and transformed. She wasn't a black dragon at all, but a twilight dragon! "Insects! When I am done with you I will burn your shrine to the ground!"

Starwisp aimed her flaming arrow sky-high and released it. The flare drew the attention of the flock of druids waiting in the trees nearby. They swooped down.

Kai breathed fire at the dragoness, but she replied with black fire – twilight flame. The two dragons fought tooth and nail. Brock threw a lava bolt at Sethria as James and Ash hacked into her legs with their swords.

"You see this fiend?" Misty said to the whelp curled around her neck, as she healed Kai. "A follower and twisted creation of Deathwing, the monster who killed your mother. Grow to hate them, little one. Grow to hate them with all your heart."

Toristrasza stared at the twilight dragon battling with Kai, her golden eyes piercing and wide. So much violence, so early in her life. She was still learning to understand human speech, but she did grasp that this creature was very evil and never was meant to exist. It was the life-binding instinct in the red whelp that ignited a flame of hate. Misty intended to fan that flame into an inferno – to raise Tori to be a weapon of righteousness, to hate all that was evil and relentlessly hunt it down.

The druids swarmed around Sethria, tearing her apart with their talons and beaks. She snapped one out of the air, and was about to swallow it whole, when Gary tossed a pyroblast into her face. The dragoness dropped the druid, and Brock stopped what he was doing to heal it. Sethria roared angrily. She swatted James away with her talon and grabbed pikachu in her jaws. She flung the pokemon into a charred tree.

Vaporeon leapt up onto the dragon's back, using the arrows embedded in Sethria's side to help climb the scaly monster. She then bit down on the dragon's neck, hard. Sethria flailed to get her off.

Thisalee clawed one of the dragoness's eyes out – a dirty move even most of Quel'Delar's Chosen would think twice about. The twilight dragon thrashed wildly, half-blinded, and nearly toppled over. Jessie cast a felfire bolt at the monster, and she finally collapsed.

"You buy time, but not your lives! My hatchery… remains…"

"Good job!" Misty said.

"I'll stay here and look for any dragonkin that managed to survive," Thisalee said, returning to night elf form. "The rest of you should head back to the shrine."

"I hope we meet again, Crow," Ash said.

"So do I." She smiled.

XXX

Choluna rushed out to greet the heroes. "Is it true you led an assault against a twilight dragon?"

"It is," the warrior told her.

"I'm convinced that _you_ are the herald of Aviana, Ash," Choluna said. "It was you who first saw her, along with your friends, and you who rescued her essence from the claws of a dragon. Yes, I believe Aviana is soon to be reborn into our world. And you shall have the honor of ushering her over the threshold. Take this incense and burn it before Aviana's egg in the room just above me. The Ancient awaits, Ash. Our deliverance is here!"

He did as he was told. As the incense filled the air with its sweet scent, a flash of light forced the heroes to look away. Aviana stood before them, glowing radiantly.

"I… live! Those that tried to corrupt me and kidnap my children will soon feel the rake of my talons, heroes. Believe it. Continue to push forward across Hyjal. I will collect myself and assemble with the other Ancients."

"What about the hatchery?"

"Don't worry about that, Ketchum." Ash turned. The familiar night elf leaned against the archway. "I've already taken care of that."

"Thanks, Crow." He smiled at her.

"Now, get going," she told him. "You have other things to attend to." For a moment, the druid looked sad. "We're gonna miss you around here, though."

"Yeah… We're gonna miss you, too."

"What's this 'we'?" Gary asked, grinning. "Don't you mean _you'll_ miss her?"

"Shut up, Oak, nobody asked you," the druid said, glaring at him.

"Oh, come on, Crow, I didn't mean it like that!" The mage laughed.

"Well, anyway," Ash said, "I'm sure we'll meet again."

"I look forward to it. See ya around, Ketchum…"

Quel'Delar's Chosen said their goodbyes and turned to leave, not really sure where they were going. Ash suddenly stopped.

"Ysera."

"_You've done well, Ash. For many years, Aviana fluttered at the periphery of my dreams. I wondered if she'd ever return, and you have now brought her back. I fear she may have been darkened by the years, but there are more pressing matters to attend to_."

"Where should we go next?"

"_Aessina's shrine is at the forefront of the Twilight offensive and may well be ablaze at this moment. She is a nature spirit, my constant companion in this world and in the Dream. We may never save Hyjal without her help. Save her shrine from the fires, and save the animals nearby, or all is lost._"

"Aessina's shrine it is…"


	13. Cascade Ward

Quel'Delar's Chosen arrived at Aessina's shrine. It was located amongst the ruins of a highborne city, overgrown with flowers and vines. Massive trees grown into the shape of a dryad's upper body, clothed only in ivy, sheltered the shrine under their shadows. Real dryads frolicked about nearby, built as centaurian creatures with the upper halves of night elf women with hair of leaves and the lower bodies of deer. They were beautiful. Not to mention, wearing only bras made of maple leaves and vines – naturally, Brock was distracted.

One of the dryads bounded over to them. Her eyes were dull and blank, and she didn't look too bright. "Please help us, brave adventurers! The forest is aflame, and the wee animals can't find their way out. They can't fight for themselves, with their teeny-tiny little teeth and their soft furry paws! They're fluffy and sweet. They have wet little noses! If you don't save them, I don't want to even _think _about it!" She put her hands over her eyes. "I'm not thinking!"

Gary tried not to call the dryad's attention as he said quietly to Ash, "No kidding…"

The warrior tried not to laugh or smile. He quietly replied, "Yeah, seriously…"

"Come on," Starwisp said. "You heard the dryad."

"What?" James asked. "You mean you're taking this seriously?"

"Of course!" Misty said. James looked to Jessie with an expression that read 'help me', but she just shrugged and started after the night elf.

As they headed toward the inferno, they bumped into a night elf riding a nightsaber, with an army of treants around her. "What are you kids doing out here? We're not here to babysi-" She saw Gary's sword. "Oh. Oh, um… Sorry. Look, I could use some help here. Can you help us stem the tide of destruction? Slay the raging firestorms… before they engulf Aessina's Grove and erase all hope of someday reclaiming this mountain! Speaking of the firestorms, they are unbound elementals in the purest form – something I didn't think could exist outside their own plane. Only very skilled summoners could unleash something like this. Kill them."

They stared over at the burning forest. Misty silently reached for her pokeball and let out her pokemon. After a moment, she took a deep breath, put her shield on her arm, drew her sword, and said "Alright. Showtime, vaporeon."

"Let's go," Kai said. They charged in. Vaporeon followed her master, spitting water at the flames all around them. The paladin attacked the fire elementals with all her might, calling upon the Light to strike them down. She lunged at the first one she saw with her sword, but it blocked her attack with its shield.

Ash and Brock attacked the Twilight Cultists who were summoning the elementals. Brock's water totems warded the flames off, but only in a very small radius. He focused his power into frost shocks and lightning bolts. Like pikachu, he had to be careful – lightning in the forest could potentially make the fires worse. Onix smothered cultists in its coils.

James seemed to repel flames as the frost wind howled around him. Of all the death knight's unholy arsenal, his frost magic was strongest. He swung his runeblade at an elemental, embedding it in the shield. He ripped it back out and parried a blow by the flaming sword the monster wielded.

Misty blocked all incoming attacks with her shield, striking at her foes with judgements and exorcisms in her attempt to remove the elemental taint from Hyjal. One by one, the fire elementals fell before her blade. She fought her way through the steam that billowed out from the meeting of fire and water as her vaporeon extinguished the flames around her. Wherever Misty went, the flames died. She left a path of steaming, charred, but ultimately cooling wood behind her – a blackened husk and a barrier to the spread of more fires.

Jessie found herself in a shadowbolt-throwing match with a cultist. She suddenly summoned her felhunter; the demon dog pounced on the warlock's foe and tore his throat out.

Ash tried not to step on the panicked forest fauna that ran about underfoot as he hacked at the cultists – they were unarmored and helpless once he got past their spells. Brock kept him healed, so he had nothing to fear.

Gary took the approach of fighting fire with fire, or in his case, frostfire. It burned like flames, it even looked like it had flames around the icy core, but at the same time it was cold and could extinguish the elementals it hit.

The others could hardly see through the steam left behind as Misty and her vaporeon extinguished the flames. At least they could breathe through it, unlike the smoke that had been there before. After all the cultists were slain, the elementals banished, and the flames mostly extinguished, the heroes paused to catch their breath. Then they went to gather the injured animals for the druids and dryads to heal. It was exactly as hard as it sounded, except for the paladin. The others had yet to catch a single animal when Misty showed up with four burned rabbits in her arms, a pair of singed squirrels on her shoulders, a dragonling around her neck, and an injured mouse on her head.

The other adventurers simply looked at one another in utter disbelief.

"How did you…" Jessie began to ask.

"When they say paladins are friends to all innocent life, they're not exaggerating," Ash muttered.

"Next thing we know, she's going to start singing and all the forest animals will gather to frolic around her and the birds will land on her outstretched arms and sing with her and all that jazz," the mage said.

When they returned to the camp, the dryad that had sent them out to gather the animals – Mylune, she called herself – squealed with joy as she took the animals from Misty. "Oh, did nice Ms. Paladin save you from the fire? Yes she did!"

James ground his teeth together and clenched his fists, muttering unintelligibly through his teeth. Mylune's personality was in direct conflict with his, and every time she spoke it was like nails down a chalkboard, not so much for her voice but for the things she was saying. Mylune bounded away happily. James suddenly half-clenched his fists in front of him and fully expressed his frustration: "_Gaaah!_" Then he regained his composure and growled through gritted teeth, "I'm sorry, but I had to get that out of my system after dealing with her. I was holding that back the whole time she was talking to us. She makes me want to rip my hair out and murder kittens." Meowth looked more than slightly freaked-out. Jessie just laughed.

A tauren woman called them over. "You are Quel'Delar's Chosen, are you not?"

"That's us," Misty said.

"My name is Matoclaw. Have you heard of Tyrus Blackhorn?"

The others looked at Gary expectantly. "Never heard of him," the mage said.

"Hm. I believe he may be able to help us, but first you'll need to know who he is…"

"Ooh, storytime," Ash said, half-jokingly, as he sat down on one of the stone benches. The others settled in for the history lesson.

"A decade ago, during the Third War, a great battle took place here on the summit of Mount Hyjal. The Horde, the Alliance, and the night elves put aside their differences to defend our world. Archimonde the Defiler, one of the strongest of the eredar, commanded a swarm of demons and undead to march upon the World Tree and claim its power for his own. The mortals battled them bravely, united in their common goal, but Archimonde began to climb Nordrassil, growing in power and size as he did. Only when Malfurion Stormrage called upon the wisps, the nature spirits and, possibly, ghosts of ancient night elves, did the demon lord meet his end, and the land has been healing from the resultant explosion since. His defeat signaled the end of the Burning Legion's invasion of Azeroth… But many of his corrupted supporters remained behind."

Starwisp nodded. She had been there for the battle of Mount Hyjal, though she had not accomplished much, only helping to bring down some minor demons. She'd seen everything, though. Even so, she had never heard of Blackhorn.

"Among these followers were the satyrs, night elves that had been wooed with promises of power into joining the Legion. Tyrus Blackhorn was among them."

"So you want us to get a demon who tried to destroy Hyjal… to help us defend Hyjal." Misty stared at the tauren in disbelief.

"He was captured after his master's defeat and imprisoned here on the summit, his immortal form bound by sacred energies. But perhaps the dimmest flicker of a soul still burns within him... We must at least reach out to know for sure."

"This is ridiculous…!" the paladin protested.

"It's worth a shot. Demons can be powerful allies," Jessie said.

"Fine…" Again, off they went, this time to the tower where the demon was imprisoned, chained to the ruined building's base.

"Mortals… Have you been sent to speak with me? How long has it been since the master's demise on these very slopes? A decade?"

Misty gritted her teeth. "Yes, we've been sent to request your aid."

"_My_ aid? Have things really grown so dire? Tell me why I shouldn't let your world burn."

"This is your chance at redemption, demon. It's not too late to turn to the Light."

The demon angrily strained against his bonds. "_Redemption!_ You act as if there's an escape from the Burning Legion. So smug! As though your efforts a decade ago or in Outland have slowed the Legion a single iota! They will come, mortals. They will return. And I will be here to welcome them."

"Foul wretch!" The paladin growled, lunging. "I oughta-"

Ash and Gary held Misty back. She struggled against them, snarling at the demon. "Calm down!" the warrior told her.

Gary just glared at the demon. "You're assuming there will still be a world for your precious Legion to conquer. The Twilight's Hammer wants to destroy everything. _Everything._"

"Destruction. At night I am haunted with visions of this world being torn asunder from within. I feel neither sorrow nor rage. Merely… curiosity. I served my master in exchange for power, mage. But those you fight… they strive for oblivion. A strange motivation."

"Well, will you help us then?" the warlock asked.

"Much as I thrill to see the titans' work undone, I do wish to remain alive when the master returns. I will help you."

Misty folded her arms over her chest and glared at Tyrus. "Alright, demon. Keep talking."

"Seeing that you have no intention of releasing me from my bonds, I require you to collect some reagents for me. My own demonic essence has corrupted the plant life around my shrine here. I need you to harvest some bileberries from the wailing weeds that surround this tower. My little pets will attempt to harvest _you_ in return. Try to not let them agitate one another." As they turned to do as the demon asked, he suddenly asked "Wait. What's your name, little paladin?"

"My name is none of your-!"

"Her name is Misty," Jessie answered flatly.

The plants did indeed try to attack the adventurers, but were no match for the swords that sliced them to pieces. The berries they produced were foul, smelly things. With handfuls of the vile fruits, the adventurers returned to Tyrus.

"Very good. Now, crush the berries into a pulpy liquid with that old bowl over there and a rock. That's quite an aroma, isn't it? Now, now, Misty, don't gag. It's beneath you." The demon grinned disturbingly as the paladin tried to keep from vomiting at the awful stench. "The potion you created is vile enough to wake the dead. Which is its intended purpose. Slay a Twilight Inferno Lord and force the brew down his throat. He will revive, if only briefly, and completely under your dominance. Speak with him and learn the true name of the fire elemental he is channeling into the world to burn down your precious forest."

The paladin's temper flared up again. "You want me to raise undead? I hate you more with every passing second. You're a foul monster and I don't know why I haven't killed you yet! You're a blasphemous mockery of all things holy…"

"Misty!" James snapped at her. "Give me the damn potion." Tyrus seemed amused by the paladin's fury, as though he were purposely tailoring his tasks to fan her hatred.

"You have potential, Misty… But mercy and morals make you weak." She whipped out her sword and it glowed with holy energy.

"That's enough out of you! I've heard enough of that! Don't make me kill you!" Gary tried to gently lead her away, but ended up having to grab her wrist and practically force her to come along.

They marched reluctantly back to the extinguished forest where James forced the potion down the throat of one of the slain cultists.

"Master?"

"Tell us who you answered to in life," James commanded.

"We called upon the fury and the flame of the One, my former master. The Inferno is by His design. His true name is never uttered, it holds His power. Each of us was told but a piece. Each piece engraved on a firestone. The One's true name is here, in the Inferno. Seek the three stones..."

James sighed and lopped the head off the risen cultist, killing him again. It did not take long to locate the three stones the cultist had told them of, and they returned to Blackhorn once again.

"The runes say 'Vol'talo Thol'embaar'." Jessie read the demonic script easily.

"Presumably you're dealing with one of Ragnaros's generals, sent here to scorch the mountainside and pave the way for his conquest. I will show you how to crush him," Tyrus said. "Now you will use our newfound knowledge to pull Thol'embaar into the mortal plane like a babe screaming from the womb. Then you will crush him. The ritual is simple: take this charred branch, tap it on the ground three times, and utter his name aloud. You must call him from within the heart of the Inferno. Destroy him, and bring his black heart to me."

"You'd better have a good reason to want that heart, demon," Misty muttered, taking the branch.

Thol'embaar turned out to be a fire giant, who took quite some effort to bring down. Even so, the full group of adventurers was more than a match for him. After he fell, the heroes pried him apart, revealing "entrails" of partially-cooled lava and a "heart" of black charcoal. Misty took it, but was hesitant to bring it back to the demon.

"What do you think he wants it for? I don't trust him."

"He said he wanted to be alive when his master returned. I think we can trust him to be using this against our enemies," Gary said.

"How will a lump of charcoal be used against them?"

"How would it be used against us?" Starwisp asked.

"Hmm. Fine."

The demon strained excitedly as the heroes returned. "Have you fought him? I am living vicariously through you, mortals. Do not disappoint!" Misty showed him the charcoal heart. "There it is! Such a trophy! Born in the fires of another plane… Go ahead, Misty. Crush it. Crush his charcoal heart in your hands and let the winds scatter the ashes… yes, yes." He watched gleefully as the ashes floated around. Then he grinned darkly. "Ashes from the plane below, scattered by the hand of foe… Gods of terror, quake and thunder, tear these mortal bonds asunder!" Tyrus cackled as he snapped his restraints. "Thank you, mortals. Your heroism has made my escape possible. As a reward, I'll allow you to live! But your time will come, mortals, yes… Soon enough."

Misty lunged furiously at the demon, but he teleported away. "_Damn!_" She collapsed to her knees with a sigh. "I hate myself… so much, right now…"

"Well…" Gary said. "I should have seen that one coming. I'm sorry, Misty, you were right." He patted her shoulder.

"Matoclaw should know about this," Kai said.

Toristrasza cooed and pawed at Misty's hair sadly. The paladin stood and led the way back to the shrine, where she explained the situation to the druid.

"That crafty weasel! It's not your fault, Misty. He'd probably been plotting this the moment he saw the flames begin creeping up the mountain. We'll have to deal with him later. Don't trouble yourself over it."

"It _is_ my fault," she said bitterly. "I _knew_ we should have killed him."

Gary put his arm around her comfortingly. "Don't worry about it. If anyone should take the blame, it's the rest of us. We're the ones who didn't listen to you."


	14. Misty's Miracle

The fires were not entirely put out – some flames had somehow survived vaporeon's onslaught, and were beginning to flare up again, threatening the entire forest. Starwisp, Ash, and Gary stood atop the ruins of the highborne building overlooking the forest. Smoke was billowing up from the charred trees.

"The flames are starting up again," the night elf said.

"Yeah, looks like we missed some of them," Gary replied.

"I feel like we're wasting time trying to put these fires out – we're needed elsewhere, and what are we doing? Trying to put out a forest fire," Ash muttered.

"Maybe the druids could handle it while we helped the other Ancients," Starwisp suggested.

"That could work."

They climbed down off the ruins. "Matoclaw," Ash called out. "Do you think you and your friends will be able to handle the fires?"

"Yes. We might have a chance to beat these flames back now thanks to your work in the Inferno. Still, more wildlife is threatened. Keeper Taldros ran north through the flames, to Whistling Grove. See if you can help him!"

"Hey, Brock, you done over there?" Kai asked. The shaman gave his new weapon a few test swings. The traveling goblin merchant had happened to be selling the perfect warhammer for him, a great two-handed weapon. He nodded at the dragon.

Misty was still sitting on a rock, hugging Tori, angry at herself for letting the demon escape. Gary tried to cheer her up. "Come on, you hold yourself to way too high a standard. Lighten up a bit, okay Misty?"

The paladin didn't even raise her eyes from the ground. Gary sat down next to her, put his hand lightly on her face and lifted her chin so she'd look him in the eyes. The mage smiled at her, then leaned in and kissed her gently. "Feel better now?"

Misty couldn't help but smile. "A little."

"Good. Now, we have work to do." He took her by the hand as he stood up, and they continued to hold hands the entire way to the Whistling Grove.

Keeper Taldros – who looked like a male version of the dryads they'd seen earlier, right down to the coloration of his fur – welcomed the heroes. "Do not fear the bears in this grove – I've pacified them. My concern at present is for the welfare of the bear cubs. The fires drove the little ones up the trees, where they've gotten stuck. We've got to get those bears safely to the ground!"

"Alright," Starwisp said. She let Aeroth step onto her wrist and raised her hand in the air.

"They're afraid of flying creatures," Taldros told them.

"So we have to climb up there and get them down by hand. Lovely," Misty said. Even so, she was already starting to climb a tree. She scooped up the first bear cub she found under one arm and then made her way back down. Starwisp did the same, as did Jessie. Brock managed to get one of the cubs down. The cubs bit James, so he decided to back off. The little bears, smelling the dragonsmoke on Kai, fled from him. Ash was having trouble getting the cubs to stay still and not run away, and Gary fell out of the tree when the branch he'd been hanging onto snapped.

"You alright?" Misty called down to him.

After a moment, the mage replied, still lying on the ground, slightly dazed. "Yeah, uh… I'm fine. I'll be fine. Gimme a minute to catch my breath." Hitting the ground had knocked all the air out of his lungs. "Ow…"

"Well maybe if you lost some weight…" Ash teased. Gary was too dazed to reply.

"He's fine as he is, Ash; leave him alone," Misty said. After the mage recovered enough to sit up, he thanked her for telling his old rival off for him.

"Well at least he doesn't have to worry about getting a concussion – it's pretty hard to damage something that doesn't exist!" Sometimes the warrior didn't know when to shut up.

"Oh, I'll give _you_ a concussion…" Gary muttered.

"Gary, knock it off," Brock scolded. "You too, Ash." He climbed down from the tree with another cub – the last one – under his arm.

The Keeper cleared his throat. "The bears will be fine, thanks to you. I can handle the rest of this from here. However, these fiends from the Twilight's Hammer are attempting to scourge this whole mountain clean of all life. Even now they trail behind the inferno, leaving death and ash in their wake. Arch Druid Hamuul Runetotem is behind the fires, trying to salvage the wilderness before it's blotted permanently from the map. Travel southeast along the road. Find and aid the Arch Druid. On your way there, clear the roads by killing any Charbringers that you find. Those salamanders cause nothing but trouble."

XXX

The adventurers arrived at the ruined shrine of Malorne, where a night elf and a tauren stood. The wise old tauren man with a broken horn looked at the champions. "Ah, the venerated heroes arrive. Quel'Delar's Chosen… You're here to help? Good. The Twilight's Hammer must know that we will never back down." The white bull turned away. "This land has been scourged by fire, but it may yet renew itself. Some seeds deep in the soil may have withstood the scorching heat here in the flamewake. These durable plants are the key to this forest's regrowth. Please, collect some of these seedlings for me."

"For Aessina?" Gary asked.

"Of course…" The tauren smiled kindly.

The night elf next to him said, "In their efforts to decimate Hyjal, Twilight's Hammer has elementals scouring the earth in the wake of the fire. They're pulverizing the soil, rooting around in the ash, digging up any scrap of plantlife that survived and destroying it. It's like they're paving the way for... I don't even want to imagine. Stop them before Hyjal is devoid of life. Kill the lava surgers!"

Quel'Delar's Chosen went off into the burned wilderness, hunting the elementals. They turned out to be magma elementals – a mixture of fire and earth. Naturally, Misty's vaporeon was highly effective against them; sometimes her hydropump managed to bring the elementals down before Ash could even attack. Gary's frostbolts were also very powerful, and Brock's frost shocks.

Toristrasza suddenly jumped down from Misty's shoulder and bounded along on all fours. "Tori, what are you doing?" the paladin asked, following the whelp. The crimson hatchling started digging around in the dirt and then turned back to Misty, an acorn in her mouth, her golden eyes twinkling. "Oh, you clever little thing."

XXX

Hamuul examined all the seeds and sprouts that Tori had dug up. "These seedlings have survived an apocalypse. Even a handful hold great power. Life always replenishes itself, often stronger than before." The tauren placed them in a bowl of soil. "These seeds will help us restore the land. But not now. Right now we have something else to attend to."

"What would that be?" Brock asked.

"When I arrived, I was stunned to discover that Twilight's Hammer had located – and imprisoned – the great turtle Ancient Tortolla. As we speak he is chained above the murky waters of the Ashen Lake. Freeing Tortolla from his bonds will not be easy. But we will take it one step at a time."

"Wait," Misty protested, "What about Aessina?"

"Believe me, young paladin. She and her shrine are safe for now, but Tortolla is in grave danger. It is in both their interests to put Aessina aside for now and help the turtle."

"Alright," Brock asked. "What would you have us do?"

"Head into the Flamewake and collect for me heaps of core hound entrails. I will explain why later. Core hounds are not native to this part of the world; they accompanied Twilight's Hammer from the nether regions of the earth. Do not trouble yourself over their elimination."

"Is it just me," the shaman asked as the heroes went core hound hunting, "or are most of our tasks of the 'kill many Xs, bring me their Ys' variety?"

"Yep," Gary said. Ash and Misty spoke up in unison with him to add the now-tired old line, "Get used to it. It happens a lot."

XXX

"Fresh and stinking, these innards will prove to be irresistible for Nemesis, the befouled turtle god created by Twilight's Hammer," Runetotem explained.

"Another one?" Brock said. He sighed. "The Twilight's Hammer and their twisted shadow-gods…"

"Nemesis must eventually be destroyed, but first, we must collect a piece of his fiery armored shell. With it, we'll be able to work some magic to free the true Ancient. Go into the Flamewake and drop this bait near Nemesis. It will distract him. Pry off a piece of his shell... then run, if you hope to survive the encounter."

"The rest of you stay behind," the shaman said. "I'll get the shell."

"_What?_" Misty cried out. "No! You can't go in alone, Brock, it's not…"

"It's safer to go alone than in a large group, in this case."

"Misty, he's right," Gary said. "I know your instinct as a paladin is to try to protect us all, but sometimes we have to take risks and you can't be there to defend us."

"I will return shortly," Brock said, slinging the bag of innards over his shoulder and casting a spell. He transformed into a ghost wolf and bounded away. It caught the others somewhat off-guard. They'd forgotten shamans could do that. Before any of them could comment, though, Brock was well away from them.

The spirit wolf stalked easily through the burning woodlands at top speed, avoiding all enemies. Brock stopped. He sniffed the air, closed his eyes, and tilted his furry ears. Yes, he could tell where his prey was now. He followed the scent of sulfur – brimstone. Fire and brimstone. Now he could see Nemesis, the fiery turtle with plumes of smoke coming out of a volcanic-looking opening on his forehead. He slipped through the burnt bushes and allowed the bag to snag on a branch. Then he turned and took his human form, still hiding. He pulled the bag free and dumped its rancid contents out on the ground nearby. It was not long before the flaming tortoise came to eat, completely distracted as Brock took his new warhammer and threw his entire weight into swinging it down, snapping one of the spikes off the turtle's fiery shell. He quickly slung the hammer over his back again, took his wolf form, grabbed the shell fragment in his teeth and ran away as quickly as he could. Nemesis roared in fury and thundered after him for a few yards – but as a turtle, he couldn't move very fast for too long. Brock escaped into the wilderness.

"There he is!" Starwisp said, pointing at the approaching ghost wolf.

"I knew we could count on Brock to get the job done," Ash said. The wolf arrived and dropped the shell fragment at his feet before turning back into a human and picking the shell up to hand over to Hamuul. The Arch Druid took it with surprising reverence.

"Nemesis is an instrument of evil, but he was forged from a shell fragment of the true Ancient. We will exploit this connection." He poured water into a dip in the shell fragment, which boiled right away, and added crushed herbs. "Tortolla the turtle ancient is ageless, a part of this world since the time of the titans. He speaks a language older than our understanding. If you drink this and find a place of calm within yourself, you will be able to understand the language of Tortolla. Unfortunately, this potion will only be enough for one of you. Go to him at the ashen lake. Earn the ancient's trust. The fate of Hyjal hinges on this."

"It was Brock who retrieved the shell fragment, and Brock who is best at finding peace within himself," Gary pointed out. "So, he should be the one to speak to the tortoise ancient. Plus, I have a feeling the boulder that saved Tortolla in my vision has something to do with the fact that Brock is connected to stone."

"Boulder Badge?" the shaman suggested.

"That… could very well be it."

"The potion is ready now," Hamuul said. Brock bowed slightly as he took it respectfully. It smelled of tea, spices, and honey, among other things, and it tasted much the same.

After drinking the potion of ancient speech, Brock nodded to the others, and they headed for the location Hamuul had pointed to. The gargantuan tortoise was chained to a pair of Twilight's Hammer posts topped with decorative dragon heads covered in metal plates – much like Deathwing. The heroes swam across the lake to the island the Ancient was chained to.

"Greetings," Brock said to the turtle. It glared at him with its sea-green eyes.

"Begone…" Tortolla muttered, not really expecting Brock to understand him.

"Not just yet." The turtle looked confused.

"This tongue… is not your own… How can you understand my speech? …What do you want, tormentor?"

"I'm here to help you," the shaman said calmly. The others stared blankly, only getting half the conversation.

"From the deep… A realm of darkness and fire. Grasping in my slumber… I am ensnared, human. Shadows lurk in the rods of fire beside me… Slay them… That I may be free again." The Ancient spoke very slowly, but Brock was patient.

Then the shaman walked over to the pillar on the left, readied his warhammer, and pounded on the pillar and the chain repeatedly, as hard as he could, cracking and bending them with resonating clangs. Finally, the chain snapped. A shadow wraith appeared before him. He raised his hand in the air and a thunderbolt struck him and exploded around him, knocking the wraith back. He followed up with a lava bolt, which caused the wraith to shatter like glass. The others blinked a bit.

"Well that was kinda spectacular," Kai commented. Brock repeated this ritual on the other pillar. The turtle shifted and stretched.

"You... are not like the others. I am free once again. The others... will pay." The turtle turned his shining, plate-sized eye to Brock again. "I have… one other task for you, little human… My children. They lie below… In silt, and sand. The others corrupt them. Slay the others. Destroy the corruptors. Save my children..."

"In the water?"

"Yes…"

"Very well." Brock looked at his companions. "We have to kill the 'corruptors' in the lake." He and Jessie cast water-breathing spells on everyone present. Then, they dove into the lake. As they swam deeper, they saw creatures at the bottom of the lake that they hadn't noticed while swimming over them – strange monsters, unlike any they'd seen before. These monsters had octopus-like heads with tentacles where their mouths should have been. Their eyes were small, so they seemed faceless. They were lopsided, with one arm being a simple tentacle, the other being a large, jointed limb with octopus-like tentacles for fingers. Their feet looked almost like a mixture of the two-toed feet of trolls and the hooves of cows.

"What are those?" Gary cried out. Even he had never heard of such monsters.

"I've never seen such fiends!" Starwisp said, flinching back in horror and disgust.

"Dear Light…" Misty muttered. Toristrasza clung to her shoulder and hid behind her neck in fear.

The faceless ones – for that is all they could be called – were tormenting young turtles with dark magic. "Good lord, kill them!" Jessie said, already starting to cast a shadowbolt.

"Agreed," Kai said, taking his dragon form. He swam forward to attack one, propelling himself with his wings. It wrapped its slimy tentacles around him, and he clawed at it. Its blood plumed out in the water around them, blue-green at first, then turned dark.

Jessie and James recognized that color. "Is that… Is it bleeding… _saronite?_" the warlock asked.

"Saronite is said to be the blood of an Old God…" James replied.

"Oh, these are eldritch monsters… These should not exist. These are connected to the Old Gods!" Starwisp exclaimed. "Hurry, we must destroy them all!"

"Where are they coming from?" Misty asked.

"That's something to worry about later," James told her. "For now, _kill them._"

XXX

"You are not like the others at all…" the tortoise told Brock. "Not of this world, but not of the shadow before it… Braver, stronger. You are good. What is your name?"

"My name is Brock. Thank you, Tortolla. Your words are very kind."

Tortolla let out a long sigh, and after a pause, continued, "I slumbered in the healing silt of Hyjal. I slept until the world broke open. When the others came, I was not ready. I am ready now, human… My children and I: slow to anger… but our wrath is final. Tell those who sent you that we are prepared for war. The others will be cast from the mountain."

They returned to Hamuul with the news. Ysera reappeared, but this time, Ash could not see her. This time, she was visible to Misty and nobody else.

"You have awakened three of the Ancients, but the wilderness spirit Aessina remains silent. With her help, we can turn the tide of this attack and undo the damage Twilight's Hammer has done. There may be one who can help us. The oldest of the trees, Nordu, stood in the center of what is now the Flamewake for thousands of years. His wisdom is as old as this mountain. If that old tree still lives, perhaps he can awaken Aessina... seek him out."

"What are you looking at, Misty?" Ash asked.

"For once, you couldn't see her…"

"Oh. Ysera then? What did she want you to do?"

"We need to find Nordu, the lorekeeper." She summoned her charger, and waited for the others to call their own mounts from the plane they slept in. Kai took flight as a drake, and the eight heroes ran off to find him.

Nordu was already ablaze, standing at the end of a narrow cliff jutting out over the burnt landscape.

"We're too late!" Misty said, her heart sinking.

"I… have not yet… perished…" the tree said weakly. "It is... too late for me. Burned to all but the core. I have lived eons ... yet still my end seems sudden. New life can spring from old. I still have wisdom to pass on. Please... do not let them take me before my work is done."

"We won't, Nordu," the paladin assured him.

"Keep the tormentors at bay... just a little longer, paladin. Give me minutes, and I will give you a thousand lifetimes." His branchy arms were folded inward, and in his hands a small green light flickered between the twiggy fingers.

The tormentors he spoke of appeared soon enough – fire elementals. Misty rushed forward to fend them off, consecrating the ground – what little good it would do was worth a shot. She stood in their way on the narrow cliff, using her shield to hold them back. Gary called down a rain of ice around her to keep them back. Ash and James stood ready behind her to catch those that pushed through. The elementals fell, one by one, until that wave was defeated.

"Thank you, humans… I am ready now. All that I am, that this forest once was, is now yours…" He opened his branchy hands, revealing a glimmering, untouched seed. "This is the Heart of the Forest. The seed of life. Take this to your Arch Druid at Aessina's Grove - Hamuul Runetotem will know how to invoke its power. I promise you, the wilderness spirit will be silent no longer. New life will bloom from the ashes of old. My time… is done."

"Thank you, Nordu…" Misty took the little seed and held it carefully the entire way back to the shrine. The dryads moved aside for the heroes.

Hamuul sighed. "I'm at my wit's end, heroes. I have tried everything, yet Aessina remains silent."

"This may help, Arch Druid…" the paladin held out the seed for him. Toristrasza jumped down off her shoulder and stood at the edge of the moonwell, as though preparing for the coming of the nature spirit. As a red dragon, she was attuned to the powers of life.

The tauren's eyes widened. "This is the key! With the seedlings you collected for me earlier, the animals you've saved from around Hyjal, and the Heart of the Forest you've just discovered, we can rejuvenate this land right from under the feet of Twilight's Hammer. Imagine their astonishment to see their work undone, as life triumphs over chaos... I will begin the ceremony at once!"

The tauren set to work immediately, though the others couldn't really tell what he was doing. Suddenly a pillar of green light shone down on the moonwell in the center of the grove. A beautiful, faint spirit appeared. She took Misty by the hands and lifted her into the air – the paladin somehow floated along with the spirit. Aessina held the girl over the moonwell and they slowly rose higher and higher as the spirit began to speak. Her voice was sweet and melodic.

"Who are you, young Misty, to bear such a burden? Protector of the animals... Slayer of monsters... My Champion... My dearest old friend Nordu has bestowed to you a great gift, paladin. The gift of life.

But I entrust you with an even greater responsibility. By _your_ hand, this mountain will bloom again! It is _yours_ to protect, and defend… See that it thrives. Drive out those who would do it harm. Do this in my name…"

There was a great explosion of golden Light from around the paladin girl, forcing everyone present to shield their eyes from its warm radiance. When the light faded, they opened their eyes again. Misty was sitting in the moonwell, her eyes shut, silvery moonwater dripping from her ponytail. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Misty! You did it! You've awakened Aessina…!" Hamuul said in disbelief. "I can't believe my eyes… the Inferno is _gone_…! _Look! The forest regrows before us!_"


	15. The White Stag and the Mage

"Oh, brilliant, Misty!" Gary ran over to help her out of the moonwell. Not caring that she was soaked, he pulled her close and kissed her. He cast his drying spell on them both.

"The mountain blooms again! Hurry, we can press our advantage," Hamuul said. "Our old friend Tortolla, the Turtle Ancient, is already on the move. At his own pace, of course... Find Tortolla east of here, at the head of the path leading down into the scorched plains. Our strongholds there fell early in the campaign, but perhaps now we can reclaim them. That's our problem, though; you deal with Nemesis."

XXX

Gary drew the rune out in front of the twilight portal, carefully following the lines from the clay tablet the ogre had been holding. "Alright, that should do it." Quel'Delar's Chosen were not prepared for what greeted them on the other side. They entered a cavern in the Firelands, a molten chamber full of magma, just as before, but this time there were charred corpses all around. Charcoal bodies twisted into poses of agony like casts from Pompeii. Some hung from hooks like meat at a butcher's shop. Many were half-eaten.

"Dear Elune," Starwisp muttered. James and Gary cast their frost wards on the group to keep comfortable in the searing heat.

"What could they possibly use this for?" Misty asked.

"I don't think we want to know," Ash answered.

Toristrasza jumped down from Misty's shoulder and began to run away. The others had no choice but to follow the dragonling. The whelp could sense the dark creature they were hunting – she would lead them to Nemesis. She ran headlong into a pack of elementals and scrambled back to Misty, who quickly came to her aid, crouching down in front of the dragon with her shield raised to protect her from the flames. The others cleared the way and the whelp led them on. Finally, they reached their target.

Brock placed his totems carefully. The trainers readied their pokemon for battle.

"This is not your domain, mortals…" the fiery tortoise growled. Gary's reply was a frostbolt to the face. Enraged, the turtle thundered forward. James and Ash charged forward to get in the way. Brock cast a frost shock at Nemesis, causing it to reel back in pain. It snapped at Ash, barely missing.

Starwisp and Meowth tried to find a weak spot to aim at, eventually settling for the turtle's knees. The spellcasters kept a constant stream of frost and shadow pouring in. It didn't seem to be doing much good.

"My frost magic is weak," Gary muttered. Indeed, this limitation gave Nemesis the upper hand.

Vaporeon's hydropump caused an explosion of steam. Nemesis howled; he couldn't see anything through the veil! Frost struck him from all sides – Gary's ice lances, Brock's frost shocks, James's icy runeblade. Furious, the tortoise began to stomp and smoke as his molten core boiled up.

"Hurry, get close to me!" the death knight shouted. The others ran to him and he began channeling an anti-magic zone – a dome of unholy energy that protected the heroes from the flames the tortoise unleashed. Seeing that they'd survived, Nemesis angrily charged at James, but Brock got in the way. Imbuing his weapon with the power of frost, he swung the massive warhammer down on the tortoise's head. Nemesis was stunned for a moment, and the shaman's frost shock finished him off.

The Twilight's Hammer had attempted to create their own pantheon of dark Ancients. Quel'Delar's Chosen had thwarted them all. They left the caverns and were ready to ride back to Nordrassil when Gary stopped. Ysera had chosen to appear before him this time.

"All of the shadow Ancients are defeated, and the real Ancients are with us now… all but one. Malorne remains lost. Hamuul and Malfurion are at his shrine, preparing for the upcoming assault on the Firelands. You should help him, young mage."

"Assault on the Firelands? So soon?"

"Don't worry about that just yet. We have much to do before we can march on Ragnaros's domain, but the sooner we can build and fortify a base there, the better. For now, head to the Shrine of Malorne. There may yet be hope for the great white stag. We'll need his support. Fandral has escaped from us and is now leading a group of evil druids."

"_Fandral?_"

"The very one your friends helped retrieve. I fear they may have been tricked."

"Why would Alysra do that?"

"I don't know, young mage. But you must stop them."

"What did Ysera ask you to do this time?" Starwisp inquired.

"We're to help open a portal from Malorne's shrine to the Firelands. Fandral somehow got away and is causing all sorts of trouble."

XXX

"Ah, there you are. You're a bit late. They've already left for the portal – it is where Nordu once stood. The portal is nearly open, and the elementals have put up very little fight. Go help the druids out with the last few," Matoclaw told the heroes.

"No problem!" the mage assured her. The adventurers rode up the narrow ledge and onto the cliff, where some small elementals fought against a group of druids. Without even bothering to announce their presence, the heroes dove into the fray, destroying elementals left and right. Matoclaw, all the way down at the shrine, could see their magic and pokemon attacks sparking and flashing atop the cliff – lightning, water, frost, Light.

The portal roared open at last – and out stepped a night elf woman, like no other they'd ever seen before. Her skin was not purple, but brick-red. Her eyes were golden, and her blue hair hung down in a braid over the fiery robes she wore. Her shoulderguards looked like phoenix wings.

"Druids, hold your fire," Hamuul ordered, raising a hand at the heroes and their druid allies.

"Leyara?" Malfurion asked, "Is that you?"

The woman raised her hands into the air. "Minions of the Firelord, lay waste to these invaders! The Guardians of Hyjal shall burn for their arrogance! You will all suffer the wrath of Ragnaros! _**Die!**_"

"Wha-?" Malfurion was cut off by the fire nova that exploded around her. Gary was just barely able to get up a mana shield in front of his friends for a few seconds to let the flames pass. He fell to his knees – such a large shield was difficult to hold, even for mere seconds.

"You… lived?" the fiery night elf exclaimed in shock.

Ash lunged at her and she was barely able to dodge his attack, throwing herself off the cliff and transforming into a firehawk. "No matter! I shall watch Hyjal burn from afar!"

"What the hell was that all about?" Gary asked, still in shock. Misty helped him to his feet.

"A flame druid," Hamuul said. "While you were attacking Nemesis, we found out that Fandral Staghelm escaped from the emerald dragonflight and threw in his lot with Ragnaros. He and his followers are twisted mockeries of druidism. They are dangerous." He turned to Malfurion. "Did you know her?"

"Yes, Hamuul. I know her. And she is more dangerous than you know…" He shook his head. "We can't be concerned with the Druids of the Flame for now. We can deal with them later. Heroes, return to Matoclaw."

"Yes, sir," Starwisp answered, giving a night elf salute.

When they arrived, Matoclaw was waiting. "What happened up there? I saw fire, and… no, nevermind. Tell me later. We have other business to attend to. Our invasion plan looks to have backfired. Several of our birds have already reported in, speaking of fires breaking out across the vales of central Hyjal. Now, many of our druids are stranded out in the field, unprepared for such a large-scale attack. Thisalee was near Ashen Lake, and several others were out in the Regrowth, to the northeast."

"_What?_" Ash yelped. "Crow's in trouble?" He immediately began summoning his horse.

"Ash, wait!" Misty called out, but he was already on the horse and galloping away. She sighed in frustration – even now, the warrior would act before thinking. Some things never changed. She summoned her charger and ran after him, Gary following right behind her.

"Brock, Jessie, James, come with me," Starwisp said, summoning her nightsaber. "We'll help those in the Regrowth."

Ash leapt off the horse at the edge of the lake and dismissed the horse. "_Thisalee!_" He ran across a fallen tree that formed a bridge to the area Tortolla had been chained to. The night elf stood with her back to the cliff wall, daggers out. The obsidian bodies of elementals lay strewn across the ground in front of her as she faced off with three more. More still poured out of a fire rift nearby. Ash attacked them in a wild blood frenzy.

"Ketchum! By Elune, am I glad to see you! These guys came out of nowhere; can you hold them off while I catch my breath?"

Ash didn't answer, instead he just tore into the elementals with all his might.

"_Ash, you idiot!_" Misty's voice rang out. Two more horses arrived, and their riders started across the fallen log. As they joined the fray, Thisalee reentered the fight. Together, the four of them were able to hold off the invaders as the portal closed.

Meanwhile, Starwisp's party ran across a tauren and a night elf. The two men fought back-to-back. The archers sharpshot elementals and the Rockets opened up a magical attack of ice and darkness.

"Look, Tholo, help has arrived!" the night elf said.

"Anren!" Starwisp said. "Long time, no see."

They, too, were able to hold their ground until the fire portal closed.

"As long as Anren and I stick together, we'll be fine," Tholo said. "You should return to the shrine."

"Right. I see a lot of fire over there," Anren agreed. He pointed to the shrine – there _was_ a lot of fire around it – far more than there had been.

"Oh no," James muttered. "The shrine's under attack!"

Quel'Delar's Chosen – with Thisalee Crow in tow, as she'd insisted on accompanying Ash for 'more fun' – met at the shrine. It was, indeed, under siege. Cenarius, the Keeper son of Elune and Malorne, was helping defend the shrine. Hamuul fought off elementals in his bear form.

"Help me hold them off! The shrine must not fall! Malfurion is working on a miracle – he believes he can resurrect Malorne to defend Hyjal!" The heroes nodded and launched into combat, tearing fire elementals apart. It was not enough; more and more came. Legions of flame marched toward the shrine with the restored marble statue of Malorne.

"The invaders are fast approaching, Malfurion! Give up this ritual and join the fight!" Matoclaw urged. "With your help, we can repel them!"

"No, Matoclaw. Ragnaros will not be content to send mere foot soldiers to attack us. I sense something larger is coming, and we will need the strength of Malorne if we are to survive."

"What's that?" Thisalee cried out, pointing at a monster coming from behind a cliff. It was a molten behemoth, its stone body leaking magma. The skull-like head floated above.

"_**Burn!**_" it roared.

"Hold them back! Do whatever it takes! We need to buy more time!" Hamuul shouted.

"Malfurion, what's taking so long?" Matoclaw asked. "The ritual should be done by now!"

"Just stand strong," Cenarius urged. "Just hold the line!"

The elementals were closing in. The defenses were failing.

In a fit of frustration, Gary turned to the statue of Malorne. "_Where are you, Malorne? Come on! Are you going to just let us die like this? Damn you; if you're so powerful, __**show us!**_" The mage attacked the statue with Quel'Delar. "_Come on, you can't do this to us! __**Malorne!**_" He struck the statue again. This time there was a flash of green light and a blast that knocked everyone present to the ground.

Malorne had returned. The massive white stag with oak leaves around his neck reared up. The purple streaks in his fur shone brilliantly in the sunlight. He was beautiful, with giant purple feathers tied to his knees and antlers. The deer charged forward and gored the elemental giant with his antlers. The giant struggled for a moment before collapsing, banished back to the Firelands.

"Oak, what did you do?" Thisalee asked in shock, staring in awe at the stag.

Malorne reared up again, his white fur gleaming, and then he charged off, trampling elementals under his giant hooves.


	16. The Will of the Flame

The druids cheered for joy. The Ancients had returned!

"You have accomplished much, heroes. I have but one task left for you," Malfurion said, when all had calmed down. "Track down Leyara for me. Find out what she wants."

"And kill her if we must?" Ash asked. Malfurion hesitated, then nodded. Ysera appeared again, this time visible to all.

"I have one additional task for you, my children. The dragon you assisted, Alysra, was responsible for Fandral's capture. We can only assume the Twilight's Hammer has gotten to her. Confront her for me, and kill her if you must – I could not bear to destroy another green dragon, nor to see it done."

XXX

"Oh. It's you again. Is something wrong?" Alysra shifted nervously. Her eyelids fluttered as though her eyes were darting about beneath them. Storm clouds gathered above, threatening to unleash a thunderstorm.

"Why have you betrayed your fellow dragons?" Misty asked.

"Betrayed? No! I did not betray the others! We were betrayed! Ysera was lost in the Dream while the whole world fell apart! That is the true betrayal here!" She suddenly lunged, tearing Misty's armor open with her talon. Blood splashed across the white marble ruins in a streak of crimson. The paladin fell to her knees and began casting a healing spell on herself.

Gary, now furious, cast a fire blast at the green dragon, followed quickly with a scorch spell. The dragoness backed away with a roar as the flames licked across her face. The mage began casting a pyroblast.

Alysra snapped furiously at him but her jaws came down on a pair of swords as Ash rushed out to defend his old rival from the dragon's attack. She screamed in pain and reeled backwards. One of the blades had nearly cut a tooth out of her mouth, and now it hung by a strip of bleeding flesh. As she shook her head, the tooth ripped itself out the rest of the way. Alysra took a deep breath, readying an attack.

"Run for cover!" Kai said, hiding behind a pillar. The heroes hid without question. The dragon unleashed green fire that licked over the stone ruins and harmlessly went out before reaching the targets. Starwisp aimed her arrow up over the fallen column, ready to duck down again if necessary. It struck the dragon in the nose. Alyra howled madly. She swiped at the columns with her tail, crushing them. James flinched back as pieces of stone large enough to crush him collapsed around him, brick-sized chunks battering him, then bolted from his place amongst the rubble to attack Alysra's flank.

Jessie cast soul fire at the dragoness. In retaliation, Alysra crushed the warlock's arm in her jaws; she would have severed it entirely had it not been for the missing tooth. The dragon's blood mingled with Jessie's, invisible in the crimson robe. Absol leapt up onto the dragon's face. As she flailed, trying to get him off, Misty was able to heal her friends. Brock used his connection to the element of earth and stone to gather up all the pieces of shattered columns and mass them into a great earth shock, beating the dragoness senseless.

Pikachu ran up the dragon's tail and along her back as Alysra clawed the white pokemon off her face. Ash's electric pokemon darted up her neck and clung to one of her horns. With a loud "_Pika!_" the little mouse cleverly manipulated its own electric charge, calling a thunderbolt out of the clouds, right down into the dragon's forehead. The attack was devastatingly effective. Alysra collapsed.

"We are too late," a voice said from above. "They've killed her, just as Fandral predicted." The heroes looked up. A group of flame druids had landed on the old temple's roof in firehawk form. They took their night elven shapes once again. Among them was Leyara.

"No! The Firelord has already claimed this one as his own! Do you doubt his power?" She began channeling a fire spell on the fallen dragon's body. The others followed her example, burning the corpse to ashen bones. Gary and Jessie tried to attack them but a thick wall of smoke obscured their view.

"Why'd you stop casting?" Ash asked, shoving Gary. "_You know where they are, kill them!_"

"Doesn't work that way, Ash! Can't cast offensive magic where I can't see. I'm as helpless as you are." Suddenly, a massive shape glowed within the smoke as it began to clear. A huge bird made entirely of flames within a skeleton took flight.

"Reborn in flame!" She roared. Leyara cackled as she and her flame druid companions took a similar form and flew away.

"We need to follow dose druids!" Meowth said, determination in his voice. Kai took his draconic form.

"Gary, climb on," the drake said. "We'll track them until they settle down. The rest of you should inform Ysera of what's happened here." The mage got onto the dragon's back. "We'll meet you back at Nordrassil."

As the black drake trailed the flame druids, Gary made sure to focus on Leyara – she was the most important among them. When she split off from the group, the mage told the dragon to ignore the others. They followed the druidess until she landed at the ruins of a highborne gazebo overlooking the felwood.

"I'll stay here," Gary said. "You fly back to the others. If she moves, I'll draw an arrow in the dirt here pointing in the direction she went in. If I'm not here when you return, follow the arrows."

Soon, though, the others came riding down from the mountains at top speed. "You're still here," Kai said, taking his human form. "Good."

"All ready?" Gary asked. His friends nodded. "Alright." He walked over to the druidess. "Malfurion sent us. What do you want?"

"That Malfurion... fitting of him to send his human underlings to speak with me. He has proven himself a coward, as always."

This angered Starwisp greatly. "How dare you call Malfurion a coward! How can you possibly justify that?"

"Never you mind, huntress. The details of my past were burned away when I joined the Druids of the Flame. They are of no concern to you. Besides, I am here to discuss the future of this realm. And I do not plan to discuss it with you." Leyara finally turned to face the heroes. "Now answer me… _where is Malfurion!_"

"He's not here. It's only us," Misty told her.

"Very well. Malfurion shall press into the Firelands, and we will deal with him there. His judgment can wait… for now…" The flame druid's eyes gleamed dangerously. "This tauren, though, will not be so lucky."

Quel'Delar's Chosen turned. Arch Druid Hamuul had followed them! Leyara cast a spell; suddenly roots grew up from solid stone, wrapping around each of the heroes. These roots were on fire, burning the adventurers. Misty tried to project a fire-resisting aura as James and Gary cast their frost wards. Even so, the flames stung.

"It is already determined!" Leyara said. "The flames will consume all! There is no hope for you."

"You nearly killed dozens of my students!" The tauren snorted. "You'll pay for this, traitor." He cast a wrath spell at her. The flame druidess cried out.

"Enough!" She cast the flaming roots on him too. He struggled.

"I can't move! Someone, help!"

"_**Burn, tauren, **__**burn!**_" Leyara screamed at the top of her lungs. She channeled a flamethrower spell from her hands. "_Burn in the fury of Ragnaros!_" She cast the spell again. The roots released Hamuul and he fell to the ground. The vines that had overgrown the ruins all caught flame and lit the entire structure with fire. Leyara did not stop.

"_Have you had enough yet? Have you felt enough pain?_" She screamed at the burning tauren. The smell of charred flesh filled the air. Again she cast the flamethrower, beginning to blacken the druid's hide.

She turned to Quel'Delar's Chosen, who were staring in horrified silence. "Now, look before you! One of Azeroth's most powerful 'druids', reduced to nothing but a charred husk. Such is the will of Fandral Staghelm! Go on, then. Weep over the body of your precious tauren... though I assure you that your tears will not bring him back. Such is the will of the flame!"

Gary snapped out of it. "_**No! This is not the will of the flame, you Light-forsaken monster!**_"

Leyara stared at him, slightly slack-jawed, _utterly shocked_ that he'd even dare to speak like that. "_What?_"

The mage strained against the roots that held him back, ranting furiously. "This is not the will of the flame! Fire is life, fire is creation, fire is rebirth, fire is love! This is not the will of fire!_ This is the will of a fundamentally screwed-up, evil woman and her insane masters! __**I'll show you what true fire is! I'll-**_"

"You'll what? Burn the life from my body? Hypocrite." Gary looked like he'd just been slapped in the face. "Fire is inherently destructive – and so are you!" She snorted. "You're just like Malfurion. You're arrogant and good-for-nothing. You're delusional." Gary growled quietly through gritted teeth. "But you have potential," Leyara admitted. "Fire burns strong in you… You just need to embrace it instead of pretending you can control it."

With that, the flame druid took her firehawk form and flew away, just as the roots loosened.


	17. Ash's Strength

"Hamuul?" Misty ran over to the fallen tauren and began casting holy shocks at him to heal him. She ran herself out of mana doing so – Leyara had not only done serious damage, she'd also somehow weakened the effects of healing magic cast on the druid. "Hamuul, please, speak to us!" The tauren whispered her name weakly. "Oh, you're alive! Thank the Light!" She took his shoulder in her hands; he snorted in agony at her touch. "Come on, help me!" she said to her companions. "It'll take all of us to carry him back to Malorne's shrine." The others nodded and gathered around to help lift the massive tauren. Kai took his dragon form as the others got Hamuul barely off the ground, and he slipped underneath the bull-man to use his back to help hold him up. It was like carrying a small car, but with the drake's support, they were able to get him back to the other druids.

"What happened?" a night elf man asked.

"Leyara did this," Gary said quietly. _She's not so different from me, is she?_ For once, it was not Misty but Gary who was feeling self-doubt.

"He attacked her in retaliation for her earlier assault, so she just cast this flamethrower-type spell on him over and over while screaming… It was awful," Ash muttered.

"She wants to do this to Malfurion too," Brock added.

"Don't trouble yourself over this. We'll take care of him," the night elf said. He looked over at the falling sun. "You should get some rest. You've all been through a lot."

XXX

Five people were gathered in a chamber – humanoids. A night elf, three high elves, and a human. No, not humanoids. Dragons in humanoid form. The Aspects: Alexstrasza the red, Ysera the green, Nozdormu the bronze, Malygos the blue, and Neltharion the black. It took Gary a moment to realize this, for though he recognized the two females, he'd never seen the others, save Deathwing, whose human form was unfamiliar to him. They were channeling magic into a strange golden disk. Finally, they all stopped.

"It is done," Neltharion said. "All have given that which must be given. I now seal the Dragon Soul forever."

Ysera tilted her head. "That terrible glow… should that be?"

"To be as it must, yes."

"It is a weapon like no other…" Malygos said reverently, or perhaps fearfully. "It _must be_ like no other."

It hurt Gary to look at the Dragon Soul, but he couldn't look away. It began whispering. "_They want your secrets. Your power. They are no better than the demons. They must be dealt with like the demons._"

Where had the black goat come from? Why did it have seven eyes? The scene changed. Now Gary was in a dark chamber. Alone? No. Where there had not been, now there were beings – two of them. A nether dragon was curled up inside a crystal case, too weak to writhe in agony. A woman with black hair performed some sort of ritual over shards of the Dragon Soul and a Naaru artifact, channeling her magic into a black dragon egg.

Nothing stayed constant – now the nether dragon and the table and the woman were gone. The black egg hatched out a twilight dragon, somehow already fully grown. "_I am Dargonax, the devourer of all… including you!_"

Now the mage was chained to the wall of the chamber. Misty and Ash – where had they come from? – faced off with the massive dragon, Dargonax.

"_No! He's too strong! Run away!_" Gary told his friends. It was too late. They didn't even have a chance to fight back! Dargonax slammed his claws into them and they crashed into the wall. Gary tried to cast a spell to save them, to protect them, to distract the dragon, anything, but his magic just strengthened Dargonax. Then the dragon stalked over to the fallen humans and tore into them, spattering their blood everywhere.

The mage sat up with a yelp. He was shaking violently. "Gary, what's wrong?" Misty asked, still half-asleep. Gary looked around in confusion. Where was he? What was going on? It took a moment for him to gather his senses and realize that he was safe at the Shrine of Malorne, the marble stag standing protectively over him. The stars were still visible, but the sky was getting lighter – the sun was about to rise.

"I… uh, nightmare," was his only answer to the paladin's question.

Ash rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Well, your nightmare woke the rest of us up."

"Is everything alright?" a tauren woman asked. She was holding an oil lamp. The druidess seemed fully awake – it must have been her turn to watch over Hamuul.

"Yeah," Brock said. "Our mage just had a nightmare." Gary looked embarrassed. It had been childish of him to wake up with a cry like that from a simple little nightmare. Then again, he really couldn't help it.

Jessie hadn't even bothered to sit up. She had just opened one eye to see what was going on. Now that the question had been answered, she shut her eye again and tried to go back to sleep.

James, on the other hand, was curious. "Care to tell us what your nightmare was of?" He smiled – it wasn't exactly a friendly smile, but it wasn't malicious either. "Sometimes I still have dreams of the Scourge."

Gary glanced at Misty and Ash. "I'd… rather not talk about it."

Starwisp yawned. "Well, sun's almost up. Might as well rise with it, now."

"Today is the day of the meeting," Brock said. "We should go to the world tree. I want to be there when it starts."

XXX

"Do you think it will work, Go'el? The druids and shaman uniting to restore the world tree... Could it actually heal this broken world?" the brown-skinned orc woman said.

"The Aspects believe it will. And they should know… They grew it in the first place," Thrall assured her, as they walked toward the four dragon Aspects. Ysera, Alexstrasza, Nozdormu, and the new blue Aspect Kalecgos – the one the heroes had met back at the Wyrmrest Accord.

"Welcome, Son of Durotan. And to you, Aggralan of the Frostwolves," the Dreamer greeted them.

"Lady Ysera." Aggra, the brown orc, bowed.

Malfurion arrived, shifting out of flight form and landing gracefully next to the heroes. "Greetings, friends." He looked at the orc. "I sense a vast power has grown within you, young Thrall. You've achieved much, since last we met."

"Master Stormrage. It's good to have you back in the waking world."

Ysera cleared her throat. "Friends, we have gathered here today to heal this world that we've sacrificed so much to save. For the first time, the Earthen Ring and the Cenarion Circle will unite - to restore this great tree - thereby healing the whole of Azeroth."

Nozdormu nodded. "Time is precious, sister. Let us see to our ritual..."

Five flame birds flew down and transformed into elves wearing dark robes. "I'm sorry," one said darkly, "are we interrupting?"

"Twilight's Hammer?" Thrall exclaimed. The four cultists in the back channeled a spell that locked everyone present in place – everyone but Thrall. Even the Aspects were forced to their knees. The last cultist channeled a fiery spell on the former Warchief, who used his own power over the elements to attempt to hold the flames back.

"Not so fast, Son of Durotan! Your meddling little allies may have set us back, but the hour of Twilight _cannot_ be averted! The Twilight Prophet knows that _you_ – and you alone – are our final obstacle. He's sent _me_ to remove you from the game."

"I do not fear death," Thrall replied calmly.

"Death?" The cultist laughed. "Who said anything about death? You may be this world's greatest shaman, Thrall – but you are only mortal. This is my master's curse upon you – turning your great bond with the elements… into your undoing!" He used his fiery magic to lift Thrall into the air.

"Go'el! No!" Aggra choked out.

"Even now, the elements are tearing you apart – and they shall feed upon your doubts and fears 'til the last spark of life on this wretched world has been snuffed out!" Thrall cried out in agony as he split. Four ghostly Thralls – one for each element, spread out from where he had been floating. They turned into orbs and vanished. The cultists stopped channeling their stunning magic.

"You'll regret this…" Malfurion growled, casting rooting spells on the cultists.

The lead cultist cackled. "Will I?" he burst into flames, burning away the cultist clothing over his own fireproof robe and searing the roots. Fandral Staghelm grinned savagely. His once-green hair was now orange, his skin brick-red. "Your pet orc cannot save you now. Our vengeance draws nearer – be ready." He and his flame druids took their fire hawk forms and flew away, Malfurion in pursuit as a storm crow.

"What of Go'el?" Aggra asked.

"He was the Earthen Ring's most powerful shaman, and the ceremony cannot continue without him. But we must be prepared to accept that he may be lost forever…" Ysera said.

"No! Those mongrels have stolen my Go'el, but I will _not_ forsake him. Ancestors forgive me – my heart feels stolen away with him," Aggra looked ready to cry.

"We'll help," Gary said, suddenly. He understood how that would feel – he'd had plenty of nightmares about losing Misty. On top of this, he understood that the fate of both Azeroth and his own world hung in the balance, and that Thrall was very likely the factor that would tip the scales against Deathwing. All eyes were on him. "We, Quel'Delar's Chosen, pledge our blades to this cause. We will find and save the World Shaman – or die trying."

Brock agreed. "The Twilight's Hammer thinks to shake our will… but we shall not weaken. We will not forsake Thrall. He has risked everything to save this world, and we'll do no less for him!"

"Thank you, heroes…" Aggra looked at them all with the deepest respect. "We will start with the plane of air. We will travel to the entrance of the Vortex Pinnacle together. We must speak with an elemental, Cyclonas. He's capricious, but he sees everything in the realm of air. If my love is there, Cyclonas will know what's become of him."

"Misty," the Dragon Queen said. "Leave your hatchling here with me. The quest you are about to undertake is far too dangerous for her."

Brock put down a totem of air. Together, he and Aggra created a wind portal.

The paladin nodded and took the dragonling off her shoulder. "I hope I'll see you again, Tori… If not, grow strong with the Aspect. Never forget the Light." She handed Toristrasza over to the red Aspect, who cradled the whelp. Tori cried out as Misty turned and left, pawing at her as though to reach out and grab her, to hold her back.

XXX

"I do know the one you seek... but I do not know if it is wise for you to follow him. He has cast himself into the cyclone. The winds now tear at his body and mind, leaving nothing but shreds of flesh and doubt. Chasing after him would only expose you to the same fate. The wind's edge leaves nothing uncut. You have been warned. Now what will you do?" The elemental said.

"We will go to him anyway," Ash said. "We have everything to lose if we don't."

"Very well…" The elemental picked up the heroes in a whirlwind that carried them up to the floating white buildings above the desert. "Clever fleshling… soaring in-between the winds of fate. Yes, I know the one you seek… the orc-father… Earthbinder… I sense him nearby – raging within a tempest of his own fear. You may go to him, at your peril."

"We've found him!" Aggra shouted over the winds. Indeed, the airy spirit of Thrall floated in one of the white buildings. Angry storm elementals swarmed around him. "This tempest he's become – I'll try to calm it, to reach him. Fend off the elementals!"

Ash lunged at an elemental, but of course his swords passed right through. "Pikachu, shock it!" The pokemon's attack was considerably more effective. Brock began casting chain-lightning spells, striking several elementals in a row. The elementals would not be beaten down without a fight. Wielding their storm-axes, they attacked the invaders. Misty hid next to a pillar and healed the others.

Thrall spoke. "_Failed_. I have failed this world… The elements will not speak to me. The Earthen Ring has lost faith in my leadership. My _**weakness**_ has delivered Azeroth into oblivion..."

"Go'el, it's me – Aggra! Don't you know me?"

"Oblivion... nothing... but oblivion..."

"He's too far gone! We have to keep trying!"

"You are not weak, Thrall!" Ash shouted at the orc. "It's _your_ strength that inspires me! You have had the strength to persevere in the face of the worst odds – if I could be half as strong as you…" The warrior was forced to abandon his thought as an elemental pinned him to a column.

Jessie threw a shadowbolt at the monster. It changed targets to attack her, and James got in the way, casting his frost magic at it to keep it away from the warlock. Gary stood by Misty's side, protecting the healer as she kept the others going.

"I have failed the Horde as Warchief," Thrall lamented. "Garrosh will lead it to ruin...My people, to ruin. Cairne, my brother! Why did I not listen?"

"You did what you thought best, Go'el! Fight these doubts! They're devouring your heart!"

"Why did I not listen?"

"You're stronger than this!" Kai shouted. He was flying around outside the building, burning elementals out of the sky.

Ash attacked the elemental's armor – though he could not harm them, he could distract them and keep them away from the fragile spellcasters. Occasionally he snapped pieces of the metal trappings off. As the only one without magical abilities, he felt helpless and weak here. There was nothing he could do against the air. Doubt was beginning to reach into his heart. He shook his head. No! He was stronger than that! He'd fight to the bitter end if he had to!

The fight felt like it would never end. Starwisp's arcane shots could damage the elementals, but she couldn't keep that up for long. She was beginning to feel useless. Her strength began to falter.

"Don't give up, 'Wisp!" Kai called out to her.

"You're stronger than that," Ash told her. He was backed against a column, bleeding. Misty faithfully continued to heal him, but Gary had to work very hard to keep the elementals away from her. It was starting to wear him down.

Aggra broke through. A gleam of recognition appeared in Thrall's eyes. "I know your face... Aggra! Oh, my heart – can't you see? I am nothing. Selfish... All I've done, accomplished, all for the sake of pride alone. I am unworthy of you..."

"You are Go'el, Son of Durotan and Draka! Rightful Warchief of the Horde! You are the orc who won my heart. Remember _who you are!_"

"Everything everyone does can be considered selfish, Thrall," James said, blasting an elemental with unholy magic. "Even the selfless deeds of a paladin are driven by a need to do what's right – fulfilling that need could be seen as selfish. Leave selfishness out of the equation; it ultimately means nothing."

Jessie paused for a moment, letting her companion's words sink in. "James… I like the way you think. I'll have to remember that one."

A chunk of metal bounced off the floor at Ash's feet as the elemental he was fighting exploded. At first the warrior thought it was a piece of armor, but no, he saw that it was not armor. He'd pick it up later. "What matters is that you've had the _strength_ to continue, through all your doubts!" Ash told the orc, as Aggra continued to channel elemental energy.

"You… you are right…" The tempest calmed at last. The airy aspect of Thrall knelt before Aggra.

"Be still, my love. Calm your mind. You became a slave to your duty. But being true to your heart is how you fulfill that duty… to your people… and to me."

Thrall flickered. "Aggra! I- I can't hold on!" He let out a wordless yell as he vanished in a splash of water.

"Water… So be it…" the brown orc said. "If the Twilight curse shifts you between states, we shall follow. Go'el must be in the Abyssal Maw itself. I shudder to imagine what fate awaits him there. We will find the elemental, Hydrius, near the Abyssal Breach. He knows of Go'el and is sympathetic to our fight against Ragnaros. If anyone can help us there, it's him."

Brock nodded, as he and Aggra began to channel a water portal.

Ash went to pick up the piece of metal that had caught his eye earlier. It was a necklace with a pendant in the shape of a lightning bolt. There was a socket for a gem, but it was missing. The metal it was made of was different than any Ash had ever seen – it was powerful. Pikachu seemed naturally drawn to it. Ash went to put the necklace into the plane of storage to sell later on, but his pikachu bit him when he tried. The trainer nodded at his pokemon, understanding that the necklace was somehow important. He put it on for safekeeping.


	18. Misty's Desire

As the heroes stepped through the portal, Jessie and Brock cast water-breathing spells on their friends, for they were now deep under the waves of the ocean.

"Greetings, travelers. The tides of destiny have brought you far from the bright world above. I know what it is you seek – and it lies there, before you," Hydrius said. "Your world-shaman has become a vortex of longing and desire. See how his heart devours everything within its proximity? Tread lightly, traveler, lest you too, be consumed.

"We arrived just in time! Go'el's spirit has become so unstable, it could collapse upon itself if we don't act fast," Aggra told the adventurers. They looked out over the rift – in the center, again, there was Thrall, a raging vortex around him.

"Your world-shaman is already lost to the dark fathoms. He exists now only to consume, tortured by the currents of life he longed for – but never knew."

"Aggra, do your shaman thing, we'll hold the elementals off," Misty said, her voice distorted by the water. Water elementals swarmed around them – how a being made of water could be distinct from the water around it was unclear, but there _was_ a boundary, much like that between water and oil. The paladin had an idea. On land, a sword would pass right through a water elemental. But here, where currents of another liquid would follow the blade, perhaps she could sever parts from the monsters. Misty let one approach her and swung her sword at it. Her theory worked – though she was unable to get the current to follow her sword enough, the idea was proven correct.

Gary observed what she was doing. "Misty, try using your shield!" She did as he said. Though a shield was hard to swing, especially with the resistance of the water, it created a massive wake that cut right through elementals – the shield was mightier than the sword. Cut in half, the two water bubbles that formed the elemental floated apart and vanished, merging with the water around them.

"Go figure," Ash said, feeling useless again.

"Look there – a vision within the torrent!" Aggra pointed to the vortex. Thrall stood face to face with King Varian and put his hammer on the ground. "So this is what Go'el wanted… Peace with his enemies. An end to the constant warring of his world. He… wished to lay down his weapon, and the burdens of leadership."

"It might be harder than that," Starwisp muttered. She and her owl were awkward underwater. Her arrows could not fly well underwater. She was forced to use her dagger and claws – which were ineffective against the elementals. Aeroth was even slower and clumsier trying to swim than fly. Pikachu was similarly rendered helpless – it couldn't use electric attacks without shocking its own allies.

Gary's frostbolts, on the other hand, were working like a charm, leaving trails of glittering ice floating in the water behind them, freezing the elementals and allowing them to be shattered. For this reason, Ash teamed up with his old rival – Gary would freeze the elementals solid, and Ash would shatter them with his swords.

Aggra pointed again. This time, Thrall stood with her, holding her hands. "Another Vision! I see Go'el, but… i-it's me. Was I his deepest desire? A mate with which to share his life… his burdens and his joys?" The orc's voice broke. "_Hear me, Go'el!_ You _**are not**_ alone! I am _here_ with you! I will _not_ let you go!"

Despite being underwater, Misty instinctively reached up to wipe a tear from her eye. "Love can be one of the strongest motivators for good. Don't repress your feelings, Thrall! Let them guide you! Never give up on your desires, but let them make you stronger. Your dreams are not something to be put aside for your duties, but something to drive you to become a better person, to fulfill those duties. Never give up on your dreams, Thrall!"

Brock teamed up with Starwisp in the same was Ash teamed up with Gary. The caster froze the elementals, and the fighter destroyed them. Kai needed no such assistance – he was capable of moving very quickly through the water, using his wings to propel himself forward. Between these bursts of speed, he rippled through the water like a sea serpent. The black drake shot himself through elementals, slicing them apart in the same way Misty's shield did.

As another elemental dissipated, a necklace began to sink in front of the paladin. She swam down to grab it. It was shaped like a raindrop, with an empty gem socket. One of her sisters might like it. She put it on to keep for the time.

"A final vision!" Two young orcs – one brown, one green – appeared before the heroes. Aggra seemed at a loss for words. "Oh, ancestors… could those be… our children? This was his deepest desire? To be a father? To have a family of his own… with me? Go'el never knew his parents. It was only a few years ago that he even found his people… I should have known this was what he wanted most. Oh, Go'el, hold on! I _**will**_ free you! And you'll _have_ this life, I swear it!"

James's runeblade cut and froze at the same time, as he sliced through elementals. Jessie's shadow magic blew elementals apart. The teams of casters and fighters did all they could to hold the elementals away from Aggra as she channeled magic harder than before.

"Ancestors, give me strength! The vortex's pull is increasing! It's pulling me in! The power of his longing… it's overwhelming!" She was suddenly yanked off the platform and tried to swim back but the vortex was too strong. "Fight this, Go'el, you've got to snap out of it!"

Misty slew the elemental she was holding off. Upon seeing what had happened to Aggra, she put her arm around her vaporeon and swam toward the orc woman. "Take my hand!" She grabbed at Aggra's wrist. "Now, vaporeon! Swim as hard as you can!" the paladin ordered her pokemon. Vaporeon put all her might into swimming, beating her tail powerfully as she churned the water with her paws – slowly, she overcame the vortex, pulling both her trainer and the orc away from the vortex. "Keep channeling, Aggra, you almost have this!" Misty told the shamaness. Aggra nodded and cast her spell with all the strength of the ancestors. As Misty and her pokemon reached the edge of the vortex's pull, Gary and Ash helped pull her and Aggra away from the whirlpool's grip. Slowly, the vortex dissipated as Aggra's spell finished.

Hydrius had watched from afar. Now he returned. "You've done the impossible, shaman. You have stilled the vortex within him without losing yourself, in turn. Your love for him… must be _very_ great."

Aggra nodded. "I need... the _world needs_ him whole once again. But he's always placed the needs of others before his own. How long has he suppressed these feelings – these desires? He must embrace them and find balance… or this curse will never end."

Hydrius gestured to Thrall's watery spirit. "His aspect shifts again! You are losing him!"

"Air… water… and now earth…"

"Come," Brock said, already starting to create an earth-portal. "We'll continue to chase him."


	19. Brock's Patience

_**Author's Note:**__ Lorelei is called Prima in the anime, so Prima she shall be called here as well. As much as I prefer the name Lorelei._

"You'll regret this," Agatha growled. The old woman was on her knees. Her gengar stood protectively in front of her, as the Twilight Cultist grinned darkly. He waved his torch at the ghost pokemon – though he couldn't hit it, he could certainly burn it. It backed away, then leapt out again when the cultist threatened its master.

A rapier blade shot out the man's chest. Lance kicked the cultist off his sword. "That's what you get for picking on an old woman." He reached out to help Agatha up. "Are you alright?"

"A bit beaten up, but I'll be fine. Oh, my back…" Lance pulled the old woman to her feet. "Gengar, come." She rubbed the nasty bruise that was already starting to form on her face. The Champion handed her the walking stick she always used.

"You go back inside. I'll tell Prima to get some ice for that when she and her pokemon have a free moment. I've got cultist teeth to kick in," Lance said. "Dragonite, let's go. Warm up that hyper beam – you'll be using it quite a bit." As he turned to go, he stopped. "Oh, and Agatha, check on that dratini in my battle room, will you? After what these damn cultists tried to do to it, it'll need extra care if it's going to survive."

"You and Prima take care, you hear?" the old woman called over her shoulder as she went back into the Indigo League's grand entrance hall.

Lance and his dragonite hurried down the steps, under the arches, down to where Prima was watching the exit of Victory Road. Bruno was keeping watch over the east side of the plateau. The west side was harder to get in through, as it was a sheer cliff drop – even so, it had to be guarded, as the Hammer could get in by flying on twilight drakes. North of the Indigo League were high mountains – not even those with flying pokemon could get in that way.

"Prima, I'm back. I notified Clair – she'll handle the Twilight's Hammer in Johto. You can go rest now; I'm covering for you. Agatha was attacked and she needs some ice for the wounds – can you take care of that?"

"Of course, Lance. I'll get right on that. Then I'll go watch the west side of the plateau; I'm sure I'll be able to rest there. Cloyster! Come." Prima adjusted her glasses before she left. She had several cuts and the beginnings of bruises on her arms and face, yet her glasses had miraculously remained intact. "Cloyster just chased about four cultists down into the trees by the cave – I don't know if they ran away or are just waiting to attack. Keep your eyes open."

"I'll do more than just keep my eyes open…" Lance threw a pokeball into the air. "Aerodactyl! Scour the forest for Twilight Cultists – kill _any _you find!" He patted his dragonite. She nuzzled his hand and then went back to her vigilance over Victory Road. "They'll learn their lesson," the Champion assured his pokemon. "We'll drive them out, and they'll regret ever setting foot on Indigo Plateau."

XXX

"Seeing as how the Earthen Ring is trying to save her kingdom, Therazane should be more than willing to help us in saving Go'el. If not, the Stonemother will answer to me!" Aggra said, as the earth-portal opened.

On the other side, the heroes were greeted with a hideous sight: Therazane the Stonemother was not at all like any of Quel'Delar's Chosen had expected. She was a massive, almost spherical obese woman made of rock and dirt. Her long, thick arms with their stubby fingers had purple and orange crystals growing from them, with more protruding from her back. Shards floated around her and whirled below her – she floated rather than stood, as standing would have been impossible on her tiny legs. She wore a skirt of unidentifiable material, but nothing over her large, saggy breasts – instead her thick, stony purple hair provided decency. Her hideous mouth twisted – a grin? A snarl? It was impossible to tell, but no matter what it was, the multiple rows of jagged crystal shards that served as teeth were frightening to behold.

The heroes tried not to gawk.

"I know what you seek," the massive Elemental Lord said. Her voice was surprisingly gentle, though it certainly wasn't pretty. "I've already decided to aid you. Yes, mortals, your Thrall is here. He has fused with the stone of this place – heart and soul.

His spirit is strong for a creature of mortal flesh. He fascinates me… and I loathe to give him up. Still, I can hear the sound of a distant heart, echoing through labyrinths between worlds. It's the cry of a lover's heart, I hear... and Great Therazane has not forgotten what it was to love...

Your world-shaman stands in the basalt-groves below. But take heed – he has become one with these Unending Halls of Stone. He may not wish to leave, regardless of whose heart beckons him home. You may seek him… with my blessing."

"Thank you, Stonemother," Aggra said. "Quickly, Go'el is not far from here!"

The heroes mounted up and rode away, Aggra and Brock following in ghost wolf form. Whenever they reached a cliff, Gary would cast slow fall to allow them to simply bypass the sheer drop before them.

"Was _that_ the Earthmother the tauren always told me to walk with?" Brock asked when he was suitably far away. Nobody answered him.

"My friends," Aggra said, "you have my deepest thanks. Your courage, your strength, your determination… you… you remind me of him." Then, as they crested a hill, they could see him – his giant, stony aspect was still, like a statue, buried up to his waist. "There! Look at him - frozen in stone, unmoving. Unfeeling. That look on his face… the resolve, the stubbornness. He gets it when he digs his heels in. I've seen it before – in Nagrand when he refused to lay down his mantle of Warchief, and again during his training."

As they arrived, earth elementals, bound in the dark metal ribcages the Twilight's Hammer used to control their elemental minions, attacked.

"I should have known! The Twilight's Hammer knew we'd be here! Defend yourself!" Aggra said.

This time, nobody was particularly effective, except Brock and perhaps Gary. The shaman could crack the stone open with ice and magma, then shatter it with his massive warhammer. Gary could use a similar trick with fire and ice. The others took a while to do any damage – these elementals were particularly tough. Ash's swords did very little against their stony form, and in fact he'd need to get the weapons repaired later, as the rocks did quite a bit of damage to the sharp edges of the swords. Misty ran into a very similar problem. Even Light-based attacks did very little, despite these elementals belonging to the twisted Twilight's Hammer.

"There are too many of them! I don't know how long we can hold out! Go'el, now would be a good time to wake up!" Aggra said.

"_We are patient_." Thrall answered.

"Did he just…? Go'el? Can you hear me? We need your help! Do something!" No reply.

Team Rocket modified the fire-and-ice technique Gary and Brock were using, with James providing the cold and Jessie providing the flames. Then, the death knight would attack with his runeblade. It dulled his weapon as well.

Kai tried to smash elementals with his tail and claws – no way was he about to shatter his teeth trying to bite these stony monsters. It was very ineffective – though he did manage to break some of them, he also ended up bruising himself and cutting into his scales with the metal ribcages the Hammer used.

Absol couldn't even do that; he was simply too small. Brock's Onix felt right at home in Deepholm, and with its large stones against the elementals' small stones, it had the advantage.

"_Go'el! _Pull it together or we are all going to _die!_"

"_We are patient._"

"He did _not_ just say that!" Aggra growled.

Pikachu was useless against the stone type elementals – with no sprinklers to bust, there was no hope of defeating them. Luckily, vaporeon came to its aid, with a powerful hydro pump. Together, the two pokemon could deal some damage to the Twilight's Hammer minions.

Starwisp could do absolutely nothing. Her arrows were useless, her claw and dagger were useless, and her owl was useless. "It's no use," she said, "there are too many of them and too little we can do."

"Hang in there," Brock told her. "As long as Misty keeps us alive, there's a chance of victory. Time is not a factor – as long as we don't die, we can keep fighting, and as long as we keep fighting, we can win."

"I haven't had to do much healing, so my mana should last a while," the paladin said.

To make matters worse, some of the elementals could heal as well – if an attack didn't destroy them outright, they might be able to recover. This was the source of a great deal of frustration.

Aggra was losing her temper. "Damn it, Go'el! Wake up! Don't let it end like this! We've come too far to fail now!"

"_We are patient._"

"Oh, don't you tell _me_ to be patient, you green-skinned…"

Brock's warhammer shattered another elemental, and a necklace dropped to his feet. The third necklace was diamond-shaped, and also had a socket for a gem or stone of some sort.

Meowth just stood back and wondered what he could possibly do against earth elementals. "I feel so useless."

"Many of us do," Ash said, hacking helplessly at an elemental.

"There are fewer of them coming in," Gary said.

"Good, keep going."

"I told you," Brock said sagely. "With perseverance and a healer with enough mana, any battle can be won. Eventually."

Quel'Delar's Chosen slowly, slowly picked off the remaining elementals.

Suddenly, Thrall's voice boomed. "_Now. Awaken!_" He blinked. "Aggra, I heard your voice… calling me back… Where are we?"

"You're almost home, my love. Our time is brief; you will change again, but I will find you. I'll _never_ give up on you!"

"Aggra? Aggra, I can't hea-" Thrall was cut off as he shifted to fire.

She stood there for a moment. "Fire. My love has become fire." Misty looked over at Gary. "To find him now, we must enter the domain of Ragnaros…"

"Alright then," the mage said. "We won't give up now."

The two shamans wordlessly began channeling a fire-portal.


	20. Gary's Passion

"This realm is more terrible than I'd imagined. Even now, I can feel the rage of this place pressing down on me," Aggra said, as she and her allies arrived in the Firelands – for the first time, above ground. The sky was gold and red, filled with smoke, the air strange. The black stone was devoid of plants – at least, the familiar sort; flame flowers bloomed and firevine grew rampantly – and lakes of lava boiled distantly.

Gary looked around in a mix of disgust, awe, and shock. "What a hellish, beautiful place this is…"

"Never thought I'd hear those words used to describe the same place," Ash commented.

"There! I see him, wreathed in flame! I can feel waves of fury radiating from his core. Such rage… his anger alone could burn us all to cinders!" Aggra pointed at the fiery aspect of Thrall. "I'll place guardian totems. We don't have much time – the elementals will know we're here." The brown orc placed her totems in formation, then ran to channel her energy into Thrall.

"_My parents, __**murdered **__before I could know them! Betrayed! Gul'Dan, if I must burn my way across the afterlife, I'll find you in whatever hell you've hidden! I will have my revenge! Do you hear me?_" Thrall roared.

"The air totem's under attack!" Ash said, rushing over to defend it – luckily, these fire elementals were of the sort with stone bodies wreathed in flame rather than pure fire. Brock manipulated the stone around him to create a small wall around the totem, defending it as he cast frost shocks at the fire elementals. Jessie used her shadow magic well, and James kept her well-defended with his icy blade. Misty had her work cut out for her, healing the burns the elementals inflicted on her friends. Gary grudgingly used his frost magic to fend off the elementals, and was disgusted with his own weakness. In the land of fire, where he of all people should thrive, he was weakest.

"_Raised as a __**slave**__, to kill for human amusement! __**Death was too good for Blackmoore! **__Anyone who would enslave another… deserves __**worse than death!**__ All are guilty! All must pay!_"

"He's absolutely raging! So much anger! So much pain! And he had the strength to suppress this, all these years!" Aggra looked as though seeing Thrall like this was tearing her apart inside.

The elementals retreated and more attacked the water totem. "Ash, stay here! Everyone else, come with me to defend the water totem!" Misty called out, as she ran away, sword raised. Gary followed after her. Pikachu and the warrior remained, the sole defenders of the wind totem.

"Hold them off; I'm going to try something!" Gary used his sword to draw a circle around the water totem in the soot and ash. Drawing in basic runes, he cast his spell, creating a ring of frost – any elemental that tried to cross was frozen in a block of ice. Naturally, the elementals did all they could to wipe the rune circle away. Starwisp tried to crack their stony cores with her arrows, as did Meowth. Vaporeon extinguished flames with her hydro pump.

Brock caught sight of elementals at the earth totem. "Misty, you stay here. I'll take over healing at the earth totem. We need a self-healer to defend the water totem." Again, the group rushed off to defend a totem.

"_King Varian! You wish to make war upon my people? You shall have your war, human! You will see the fury of the Horde rage through your cities! You will see your throne split in two! This I swear!_"

"Thrall, snap out of it!" Gary shouted. "This isn't like you! You've always dedicated so much to peace! Are you going to throw that away?" Anger was beginning to surface in his own heart. Why was he so weak? In the one place he should excel! He threw a frostfire bolt at an elemental – it was quite effective, having the strength of his fire magic and the biting cold of frost.

Kai crushed elementals under his tail – as a black dragon, his scales offered some protection against fire. The elementals finally decided to attack the flame totem right next to Aggra. Brock stayed to defend the earth totem from stragglers, his onix acting as a wall for him.

"What'll we do without a healer?" Starwisp asked.

"_Fight harder,_" was Gary's reply.

"_Garrosh! __**Garrosh! Cairne was my brother!**_" Thrall roared.

"Go'el! Go'el, you must stop! Your anger is _just_ – but it will only consume you! Fight it down, or we're _all lost!_" Aggra told him. "Can you even hear me?"

"You can't give in to your rage now," Gary shouted at the orc. "Pull it together! Remember the passion with which you would fight for peace? It was so important, and now you're willing to turn around and leave that behind? What of the fire inside that drives us to do what's right? Abandoning that, too? Snap out of it, Thrall!"

The fire elementals still came, facing down Jessie, James, Starwisp, Kai, and Gary. Still they taunted the mage – still he was weak. Fire began to consume his frostfire bolts as his anger at himself, and at Thrall, grew stronger. Finally, in his rage, he switched to pure fire… which surprisingly worked.

"Fire against a fire elemental?" James asked. "Are you nuts?"

"You know what they say," the mage growled, casting a pyroblast, "_fight fire with fire._" Somehow, his own flames could work against theirs – he'd overcome that weakness. His magic was _stronger._ If he tried hard enough, with enough strength in his heart to back him, he would win, he was certain of it. An elemental with a necklace attacked him, and he lunged with Quel'Delar, popping the clasp of the necklace open and ripping it off the fiend. This was his trophy, a symbol of his victory – of his strength in the Firelands. He grabbed the necklace from the ground after slaying the elemental, and pocketed it. He'd put it on after the fight.

The elemental attack was slowing. Jessie backed off – she'd taken quite a beating. Without a healer, it wasn't safe for her to keep fighting. "We'll cover for ya," Meowth assured her. They fought on, exhausted, but at last, they triumphed. The elementals retreated and the heroes regrouped as Aggra finally broke through. The four essences appeared and merged back into Thrall, the former Warchief.

"Aggra… my allies…" Thrall said. "I am… alive…"

"Go'el, I thought I'd lost you," the brown orc sighed in relief.

"Aggra, my heart… You never gave up on me. I owe you my life. Everything that I am. For I see now what I had become, so weighted down by doubt and anger. All my life, I had _chosen_ to be a slave to fear… a literal '_thrall'_. Fandral sought to use this weakness against me." The shaman turned away, gazing into the flames. "But what he and his Twilight Masters never understood is that the elements do not exist to rage and war."

"They exist to bring harmony," Brock agreed. "Within the world... and within us."

The orc nodded. "I have seen the _truth_ – and my chains have been broken. Now, I'm all that I once was… and more." He looked back at Aggra.

"Well, You're certainly more talkative," she said, with a grin. "But we must hurry back to the world tree! The Dragon Aspects are waiting. And you, my love, have a world to save."

Thrall turned to Quel'Delar's Chosen as Gary started opening a portal back to Nordrassil. "Thank you, my friends. I can never repay your service or your friendship."

XXX

Soon after the heroes returned triumphantly, Jaina teleported into Nordrassil, having been informed that there was something she should witness. Toristrasza was glad to return to Misty's arms. She and the others gathered by the Well of Eternity. Thrall was standing in the center, with the others gathered around him. Aggra walked over to him.

Thrall turned to her. "In the face of the cataclysm, I've seen how truly fleeting our lives can be. And I, for one, will not waste another second of mine." He took her hand in his.

Aggra looked pleasantly surprised. "W-what are you saying, Go'el? What is in your heart?" She stammered.

"Aggra… though I was not born on Draenor, I have always tried to honor the traditions of our ancestors…" He cleared his throat and stood as straight as an orc could. "I stand before you – Go'el, Son of Durotan, Son of Garad… and if you would have me, I would be your life-mate." Aggra trembled, looking overwhelmed. "For so as long as I live, I will stand at your side, as you stood at mine…"

Aggra regained her composure long enough to answer. "I stand before you – Aggralan, Daughter of Ryal, Daughter of Sarrak... and I will proudly be your mate, Go'el... In this world or any other." Thrall put his arms around her then, and she embraced him in return.

Jaina wiped a tear away and smiled. Gary put his hand on Misty's shoulder as she clapped. The others followed her example, and soon everyone, including the Dragon Aspects, was applauding the beautiful – if sudden – wedding.


	21. Showdown in Pallet Town

The next morning, the heroes were preparing to leave. "Well, then, where should we-" Brock started saying. Suddenly, Fleezlebop's communicator went wild. Sounds of combat came through static and the Professor's panicked voice rang out, slightly garbled by the machine.

"_Gary? Anyone? Is anyone there? It's an emergency!_"

"Yeah, I'm here, Gramps, what's wrong?" Gary answered immediately.

"_They've found us! The Twilight Cultists and their dragons are here! They're tearing the lab apart – we're holding them off as best we can with what we have but the egg is not safe – hurry!_"

"How many of them?" the mage asked.

"_Dozens!_"

Gary looked up at his friends and mouthed a curse, his breath catching in his throat. He immediately started casting a portal – right here, next to the Well of Eternity, he had so much arcane energy on hand that he didn't even need a rune circle.

Everyone rushed through the portal, which, due to the sheer amount of energy, was aimed nearly perfectly. The heroes landed right outside Pallet Town.

It was ablaze with twilight fire. Two drakes circled above the town. Gary and Ash both unleashed a flying pokemon on the twilight dragons – a pidgeot and charizard respectively. Starwisp climbed onto Kai's back and the dragon took flight, the huntress reading an arrow on his back. "I'll stay behind and help the fliers!"

"Try not to die," Misty told them. "We're going to handle the cultists! Be careful!"

As the heroes ran past the Ketchum house, they heard a scream. Ash veered off and ran into his home. Delia was cornered by a cultist. Mimey was bleeding on the floor in the corner. As the others followed Ash in, Misty ran over to heal the Mr. Mime. Ash ran up behind the cultist and put one of his swords to the woman's throat. "This is what you get for daring to try to hurt my mother," the warrior growled, and then promptly slit her throat. Delia looked absolutely horrified and thankful at the same time. There was no denying it – her son had become a warrior, a soldier.

Misty got Mimey back to his feet. "Mrs. Ketchum, do you know where the cultists went, aside from the lab?" Delia shook her head, at a loss for words.

"Mom, can you go try to help put out the fires?" Ash asked. "We're kinda busy fighting."

"S-sure, honey…"

"Thanks." Quel'Delar's Chosen were off again, this time to the lab. Kai, the pokemon, and the twilight drakes wheeled about in the sky, shooting fire at one another. The door to the lab was wide open and everything inside was a mess. Furniture was overturned and there were burn marks all over, from where charmeleon had tried to defend the lab. Fleezlebop was nowhere to be seen – presumably she was guarding the egg while the others fought.

Misty called out here vaporeon and her starmie. Gary chose his umbreon and ninetales. Ash's pikachu was all he needed. Brock's geodude would serve him well.

Professor Oak was fighting the cultists off with the leg of a chair. A cultist warrior was fighting it out with Rex, his claymore clashing with the paladin's katana. Wendy put her hands together and prayed. "Light, heed my prayer! Now in my time need, answer my call!" And much to the others' surprise, _the Light answered_, even in Kanto. Wendy was able to cast a holy nova, hurting her enemies and healing her friends.

Apparently, the Professor had barely had time to retrieve and call out some of the stored pokemon – only a handful were out, including Gary's arcanine and one of Ash's tauros. The tauros was lying on the ground, badly injured. The arcanine had a cultist pinned under its foot as it growled.

"You cultists wanna play with the shadow?" Gary said. "Alright then, let's see just what this shadow is capable of! _Umbreon, shadow ball!_" The pokemon looked momentarily confused, as though looking for its opponent, but when Gary pointed at the human fighting with Rex, it unquestioningly obeyed. Gary himself tried to add to the attack, attempting to prepare a fireball, but nothing happened. Pallet Town was simply too far from the closest Ley Nexus. The mage sighed and simply joined the melee with Quel'Delar.

Ash tried to attack one of the nonhuman cultists – an orc. The orc was also dual wielding swords. He put up quite a fight for Ash, but was no match for pikachu's thunderbolt. Even so, the orc was able to land several wounds on the trainer before collapsing. Ash clutched at his wounded arm.

"Starmie," Misty ordered, "water gun, as hard as you can. Try to kill the cultists." The starmie hesitated, as though surprised at its master's order to kill. It was very clear which pokemon had been to Azeroth, and which had not. Vaporeon didn't even flinch when Misty told it to use hydro pump, and in fact didn't even need to be told who to attack. The paladin took a moment to enter a faithful state of mind, then began trying to heal, inspired by Wendy's display. With enough faith, the Light would answer _anywhere,_ weakened though it may be in Kanto.

A troll cultist screamed as he tried to get the angry charmeleon off his face. The fire pokemon was using metal claw on him, shredding flesh and clothing while gripping the man's chest with its hind feet and tail. The troll managed to pry the little beast off him and threw it against the videophone screen, shattering the screen. Broken glass rained down on the charmeleon, but it just shook it off and unleashed a flamethrower.

A woman tried to stab the Professor, who grabbed her wrist and grappled with the cultist for a moment before he was able to bash her in the head with the chair leg. Stunned, she stood there and nearly fell over. Gary came to his grandfather's aid and finished her off with Quel'Delar.

The tauren man kicked James into a cabinet. The glass panels in the doors broke and the objects inside were shattered or otherwise damaged – delicate lab equipment, ruined. James lunged at the tauren with his runeblade – the most basic magic still worked, though weakened – runes were still runes. Even so, James was unable to use his powerful frost spells or his unholy magic.

Jessie was entirely helpless – she didn't even have a melee weapon like Gary did, so she relied entirely on magic. All she could do was call out her arbok and hope for the best. A pair of cultists grabbed her arms from behind. One of them raised a blade over her neck – Rex cut him down with a swift slash of his katana. Arbok wrapped around the other cultist, hissing madly. Charmeleon took the second cultist down with a metal claw to the throat.

Geodude pummeled a Twilight Cultist he had pinned to a wall. Brock helped his pokemon finish the man off by cracking his skull with the massive warhammer.

Gary's ninetales was thrown against a piece of lab machinery by an orc. The ninetales let out a howl of pain as the machine creaked and bent with the force of the impact on its relatively thin metal panels. The injured fire fox glared at its attacker and let out a fire blast as it lay atop the damaged machine.

Umbreon darted up a stack of books, jumped onto a table, climbed up a cabinet, and then launched itself in a skull bash against a cultist. Ash was able to finish the man off.

Jessie cowered in the corner as the fight raged around her. There was nothing she could do. She watched as her friends killed cultists. Though there had been a small army in the lab, now there were only a few. Misty faced off with a hatchet-wielding worgen. Toristrasza tried to help the paladin fight but was too small to breathe fire yet. Instead, the little dragon clung to Misty's shoulder and growled at the cultists. The worgen swung her axe at Misty, but the paladin blocked an attack with her shield and then lashed out with a judgement.

Meanwhile, outside, pidgeot tore huge gashes into one of the twilight drake's wings. It could hardly fly. Arrows riddle the bodies of both of the massive blue-and-black dragons, and their cold teal eyes gleamed furiously. They were burned, battered, and bloodied, and they were _mad._ The second drake chased Kai through the air. The black drake had to use every trick in the book to avoid being hit. If these drakes caught him they could rip him out of the sky – there was no way he could fight two at once. The best he could do was distract them while the pokemon and Starwisp fought them.

Charizard dove after the dragon closest to Kai. Opening its jaws, the fire dragon blasted the twilight drake with flames and then tackled it. The two dragons grappled as they fell, before Ash's charizard was able to free itself and regain altitude. The drake slammed into a building, damaging it a bit. Kai told Starwisp to hang on, and suddenly dropped down, pulling his wings tight to allow himself to dive quickly. Starwisp had trouble aiming while moving at this speed, but managed to shoot the fallen drake. It howled.

The fallen dragon tried to take flight again. Pidgeot wasn't going to let its prey escape, though. The bird used aerial ace, killing the dragon. The residents of Pallet Town had already put out the fires, and now cowered just inside their houses, watching this battle unfold.

"Starwisp," Kai said, leading the remaining dragon around, "if I fly close to the ground, can you jump off? I can't fight this other dragon with you on my back."

"Go for it." The black drake dove down and flew just above the ground. Starwisp leapt off the dragon's back and tumbled across the ground into the side of a house. She shook herself and brushed the long blue hair from her eyes. Then she got up and readied an arrow.

Kai and the twilight drake circled higher and higher, neither one daring to strike first. Suddenly the twilight dragon opened its maw and blasted Kai with shadowfire. The black drake screamed out in pain and veered to the side, nearly entering an unstoppable spin. The second drake pursued him, but charizard slammed into it and they tumbled through the air. They slammed into the ground, kicking up a dust cloud. The drake ripped and tore at the pokemon's flesh before taking off again, leaving the bleeding charizard on the ground. This time, though, Kai had the advantage. He dropped down from behind and above the second drake, pinning it to the ground a few yards away. Then he bit down on its neck and struggled with it until he snapped his opponent's spine.

Inside the building, the last three cultists put up quite a fight. One of them grabbed Gary by the throat and ripped Quel'Delar from his hand. The mage struggled to breathe, gripping uselessly at his foe's hand.

"Get your filthy hands off my grandson!" Professor Oak shouted at the cultist, first grabbing the cultist's arm and twisting it behind his back, then forcing Quel'Delar from his grasp and using it to stab the man through the back. The cultist dropped the mage. Gary gasped for air.

"Thanks, Gramps," he managed to cough. The mage's grandfather gave Gary's sword back.

An arrow struck the second cultist in the neck, announcing Starwisp's arrival and the victory outside. Starmie slammed the last cultist against the wall with a water gun attack, and Misty finished her off with an exorcism.

The heroes stood panting over the corpses of their enemies. Misty and Wendy set about healing the fallen. Starwisp informed them of what had happened to the charizard, and the priestess went to heal the fallen fire pokemon.

The Professor wiped blood from the cut on his brow as he sighed. "Oh, look at this mess." Fleezlebop poked her head around the corner, trying to determine whether it was safe to come out. "All this equipment, ruined. It'll take weeks to clean all this up and replace everything."

"Nah," the goblin said, as she came out from the back room, the egg in her arms. "You got a goblin tinkerer! I say, six days tops!"

Kai showed up, in his human form. He brushed his dark hair from his silver eyes. "You think this is bad? You should see the damage we did to the buildings – and that's not even counting what the fires did. Pallet Town's a mess. It'll take a while to recover from this attack."

"Come on, let's clean this up," Jessie said. "Find somewhere to put the bodies and try to get this place somewhat organized."

"Pile all the cultists up in the clearing to the northwest. The fire pokemon and Kai can incinerate them," James said. When that was done, the heroes went back to the lab and picked up the overturned and charred but still intact furniture and collapsed onto the burned couches.

"The egg isn't safe here anymore," Misty said. "So much for a little no-name town in the middle of nowhere being safe. There's nowhere the Twilight's Hammer can't go."

"I heard on the news yesterday that the cult had the nerve to attack Indigo Plateau," the Professor said. "The Elite Four were pretty mad."

"That's it!" Gary said suddenly. "Gramps, did the Hammer manage to take over Indigo Plateau or were the Elite Four able to chase them off?"

"Oh, they chased them off and not a peep has been heard from the cultists in that area since."

"Perfect! If _anyone_ would be sympathetic to our cause _and_ capable of keeping a dragon egg safe, it would be Champion Lance, the dragon master."

Misty looked at Gary incredulously. "Are you suggesting we hike over to the Indigo Plateau and try to talk _Lance _into babysitting a dragon egg?"

"Yep."

"I'd say you're insane," the paladin said, "but every time you come up with something crazy like this it ends up working."

"It's actually a good idea," Ash said. "Indigo Plateau is relatively secure, with the _Elite Four guarding it_ and all. Lance loves dragons and he knows a lot about them, so he could probably care for the egg really well."

XXX

Lance was kneeling by a footrest, on which sat the battered little dratini, its breathing getting slower. "It's too late, Prima…" Lance said sadly, patting the dratini's head one last time as its life slipped away. The Champion clenched his fist, feeling helpless. "Those damn cultists…"

"I wonder what they were trying to do to it," the ice specialist said. She stood nearby, her arms folded over her chest, a small frown on her lips. "Why would they torture a little dratini hatchling? What could they possibly hope to accomplish?"

"I don't _care _what they were trying to do," the dragon master answered. "They will pay for it." He scooped up the little dragon's body. "Come on; let's go give this little creature a proper burial."

"I'll get the shovel," Prima replied, her voice barely more than a solemn whisper.


	22. Lance and Spear

Charizard, pidgeot, and Kai approached the Indigo Plateau. The Elite Four were gathered in a circle outside the League's main building. Lance's dragonite growled as the adventurers approached, prompting Prima and Bruno to ready their pokeballs. Agatha's reaction time was a little rustier, and Lance had his hands full – he held a small, purple object in his arms. All four of them stared at the new arrivals, then seemed to relax a little bit when they saw that these newcomers weren't wearing the purple and black outfit of the Twilight's Hammer.

Lance looked surprised first, then he sighed wearily. Gary and his friends were now close enough to see what was going on. The Elite Four had been gathered around a small ditch, and the purple object in Lance's arms was a limp dratini.

Both groups were struck silent. Quel'Delar's Chosen simply had no idea what to say now that they were standing before the Elite Four, who also had no idea what to say, having been interrupted in the middle of a burial by a group of teens in strange outfits, as well as their outlandish companions. Not only that, but the powerful trainers were gathered around a perfectly still dragon hatchling.

Gary finally broke the silence. "What… happened…?" The strong trainers were collectively silent, trying to figure out how to explain what had happened – and trying to take in the odd sight before them.

Before the Elite Four could answer, Misty, trying to get over her nervousness in the presence of her hero, said that she was a paladin with healing powers and asked quietly if she could heal the dratini. Prima, incidentally, was the first of the four to speak up: "You're too late for that… it just passed away…"

"Twilight Cultists," Lance said. It was the only explanation needed. Quel'Delar's Chosen looked at the ground quietly. Another moment of silence passed, and the Elite Four returned to what they had been doing. Lance knelt by the ditch with the dead dratini in his arms. He looked at it sadly and just shook his head, then laid the little creature to rest. Bruno picked up the shovel nearby and began filling the hole back in.

The Champion stood and brushed dirt from his tunic – his outfit would not look out of place in Azeroth. At any other time, Prima would have commented on the similarity of the adventurers' outfits to the Champion's, but the mood was far too morose for that sort of chit-chat. Lance looked at the new arrivals. "Well, you're certainly not challengers. Adventurers from Azeroth I assume?"

"Well, some of us. Most of us are actually from Kanto," Ash said. "We just spend a lot of time in Azeroth. But that's not important."

"We're known in Azeroth as Quel'Delar's Chosen," James said. "I doubt you've heard of us. We're here to ask for help."

Lance raised an eyebrow. "Against the Twilight's Hammer?" The heroes nodded. "Alright. What would you have of us?"

"Come on inside," Agatha said. "We can talk in there." She let a pokemon out. "Gengar, guard the plateau." Prima gave the same order to her cloyster, Lance to his dragonite, Bruno to his onix. Pidgeot and charizard stayed outside as well.

Inside, the heroes introduced themselves to the Elite Four, and the Azerotheans explained what they were. The powerful trainers also had to introduce themselves, because Fleezlebop, Starwisp, and Kai simply had no idea who they were. Ash asked how much the Champion and his friends knew of what was going on, and after Lance summed up what had been explained on the news, Gary filled in the rest of the details – specifically, the story of the dragon egg.

Kai presented the purified black dragon egg to the Champion. "So… the cultists are after this dragon egg? And you want _us_ to keep it safe?" Prima clarified.

Misty nodded. Lance looked mildly troubled as he took the dragon egg, deep in thought. "You said they corrupt dragons. Could that have been what they were attempting on that dratini?"

"Trying to create a twilight dragonite? Sounds about right," Jessie said. The Champion sighed.

"This is a lot to take in…" he said.

"It makes sense now," Agatha said. "Bruno, where did you put that parchment we found on that cultist?"

The fighting specialist silently went to retrieve the parchment the old woman mentioned. He laid it out on the table they were all gathered around. Quel'Delar's Chosen collectively sighed or put their hands on their faces as their hearts sank. The parchment had crudely drawn birds on it, recognizable as the three legendary birds, but in shadow, much like the dark Ancients the cult had tried to create in Azeroth.

"Oh, god," Gary muttered, his face in his hands, "one problem after another…"

"They've probably already created them, or are in the process now," Starwisp said, for the first time taking her eyes off Lance.

"Well," Brock said, "looks like we won't be going back to Azeroth just yet."

"But we're needed there," James protested.

"We're needed here too," Misty said. "Ugh… Someone's going to have to go back to Azeroth and tell them we'll be delayed – we've got a bigger problem here. If the cultists unleash these Twilight Birds on Kanto…"

"The rifts are probably still opening up out here. I'll go through to Deepholm and explain the situation to the Earthen Ring," Brock offered. The Elite Four clearly had no idea what anyone was talking about anymore.

"I take it this parchment means worse things than we thought," Prima said slowly.

"Very bad things," Jessie confirmed.

"We'll do what we can to help," Lance said. "Even if that's only watching this egg."

"Thanks. We'll leave Fleezlebop here with you, if you don't mind. She'll be able to contact us in an emergency," Kai said. The goblin nodded.

"Not a problem. Is there anything else we can do?" Bruno asked. He didn't like feeling so helpless and useless. As one of the most powerful trainers in both Kanto and Johto, it was a very strange sensation for him.

Quel'Delar's Chosen were silent for a moment. "No, not that I can think of," Gary said. "Thank you for everything." The mage got up. "Alright guys, let's go hunt these Twilight Birds. They'll probably be on Shamouti Island – after all, it's both home to the trio of birds _and_ a Nexus. Brock, hopefully we'll see you in Deepholm when this is all over."

As they turned to leave, Agatha called out, "Oh, and Gary? You tell your old grandfather I said hello, when you get a chance!"

"Alright, will do," the mage answered, slightly confused.

As they left the plateau, Starwisp said, "So, _that_ was the Champion Lance you were talking about? I didn't expect a human to be so… handsome." The others just snickered, prompting the night elf to turn deep burgundy.


	23. Dark Triad

The heroes landed on Shamouti Island again. The sky was cloudy and threatened to unleash a thunderstorm. The wind was picking up, too. Aeroth hooted nervously.

"That's not a good sign," Ash said, staring up at the shifting storm clouds.

"Come on," Gary urged, "we have to hurry. Maybe someone in the town can let us know what's going o-"

"_Ash! Misty!_" a girl's voice called out. "_Over here!_"

"Melody!" Ash exclaimed, recognizing the voice. He located her – she was standing on a rocky spire.

"What _are_ you wearing?" she asked, climbing down. "_Armor?_ Why- you know what? I don't care. You'll probably need it, so I'm not complaining. Well, Chosen One, you sure do have a good sense of timing. The three birds have been restless – something's going on out there, and we… need…" she trailed off and stared at Starwisp and Kai. "Okay, this is really weird. Is this some kind of messed up dream?"

"It's real, Melody," Ash assured her.

The huntress cleared her throat. "I'm a night elf. I'm from Azeroth," she said, sounding annoyed as she folded her arms over her chest.

"So it's true then," Melody muttered. She hadn't believed what she'd heard on the news until now.

"Melody," Ash said, cutting straight to the point, "I think I know why the birds are so upset. The Twilight's Hammer is trying to create dark versions of them."

The girl didn't know how to answer. "Well… what are we going to do?"

"What do you mean, 'the birds are restless'?" Misty asked. "What exactly have they been doing?"

"Come here and look." Melody climbed back up her cliff again. Ash darted up behind her. She pointed to the horizon, at Ice Island. Sure enough, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres were circling above the island. They didn't seem to be fighting, but something was certainly going on. Misty and Gary climbed halfway up to look, too.

"We need to go over there – that's probably the center of cultist activity," Misty said.

"I can boat you over," Melody offered.

"That'd be great," Ash said. "The fliers need a break."

"_Tell me about it!_" Kai snapped.

On the way to Ice Island, those who hadn't met Melody before introduced themselves. Gary explained the Ancients and what the Twilight's Hammer had tried to do in Azeroth.

"Sounds to me," Melody said, "like the three birds are our Ancients."

"I never thought of that," Gary admitted.

"It sounds fairly plausible," James said.

"Maybe the Titans shaped this world as well," the night elf commented.

Ash nodded. "Could be."

Melody beached the boat on the rocky shore. Ash hopped out of the boat first, and started heading inland. He didn't get far. Zapdos landed right in front of him. The warrior panicked and backed away; he tripped due to the gravelly terrain and fell over backwards.

"_Don't be frightened, warrior,_" Zapdos said, somehow speaking and squawking quietly at the same time.

"Did you just-!" Ash exclaimed. "But you can't talk! How did…"

"Are you alright?" Melody called out, worried.

"I'm fine, but…" The warrior got to his feet. Moltres and Articuno landed nearby.

"_Chosen One!_" Moltres snapped. "_It's about time!_"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Who are you talking to, twerp?" Jessie asked. "The birds?"

"Of course he's talking to them – didn't you hear Moltres?" Gary replied.

"I didn't hear a thing," Melody said, "besides the squawking."

"_The Amulets of Strength, Desire, and Passion allow you to understand us. The rest of your friends can't understand what we're saying,_" Articuno explained, in a feminine voice. Meowth began translating what was being said to those without amulets.

"These?" Misty asked, getting out of the boat and showing the bird her necklace. Articuno nodded.

"_We've been waiting for you,_" Moltres said impatiently, "_and you're late. The Dark Ones have already left. We tried to hold them back, but they were too strong!_"

"The Dark Ones? The Twilight Birds?" Ash asked. Zapdos nodded.

"_We knew you'd be coming to stop them,_" the electric bird told the warrior. "_You and your friends will need to carry our vengeance where we cannot go – we cannot risk leaving the archipelago._"

"_I can feel my strength being drained by their dark powers,_" Articuno sighed.

"We'll stop them," the mage said.

"_Stop them? You'll do __**more**__ than merely stop them!_" Moltres shrieked, flaring his wings and opening his beak menacingly. Those who couldn't hear their voices cowered at this sudden display of aggression. "_The Dark Ones must __**burn**__ for their treachery, Gary! Their human underlings must die! __**Kill them all!**_"

"_**Moltres!**_" Articuno snapped, flaring her wings at him. "_Encouraging Gary's destructive tendencies will get us nowhere! We must approach this tactically, not just barge in._"

"_That's enough,_" Zapdos told his companions off. "_Articuno, there is no time for tactics. Even so, Moltres, her point stands – mindless destruction will only make matters worse._"

"How did you know my name?" the brown-haired sorcerer asked.

"_The same way we knew Ash was the Chosen One,_" Zapdos replied cryptically. "_Now. We can't afford to waste any more time._" He bent down to look Ash in the eyes. "_The Dark ones flew north. That's all I can tell you, Chosen One._"

"Well, I wish we had some more information to work with," the warrior muttered.

"_They are powerful,_" Articuno warned, "_and they are our opposites. Moltres's Shadow is cunning and patient. My Shadow is aggressive and violent. Zapdos's Shadow is brash._"

"We can handle it," Misty said.

"Do you have _any_ more information about where these Twilight Birds were headed?" Gary asked.

The trio shook their heads.

"What about the cultists?" Misty asked.

"_Don't worry about that – we've taken care of them,_" Zapdos answered.

"_Go!_" Moltres practically shouted. "_Are you going to chase down the Dark Ones or not?_" Articuno smacked him lightly with her wing.

"Alright," Ash said. "Let's go."

Melody sailed the group back to Shamouti Island.

"We'll need to rest more before we can continue," Kai said.

"What? We can't afford to rest now!" Gary told the drake.

"I'm sorry, Gary, but I'm not a machine. My wings are tired. I'd fall into the sea if I tried to fly you all the way back up to the mainland. I'm sure the same can be said for pidgeot and charizard."

The mage sighed through gritted teeth, frustrated. "Where's the nearest pokemon center? I'm gonna contact Gramps. Maybe he knows something about these Twilight Birds."

"Follow me," Melody told him. "It's easier to just show you."

XXX

"Oh, Gary, there you are," the Professor's voice called out. The screen remained black.

"Oh, that's right. The videophone got broken during the fight," the mage said.

"Yes, I'm using the regular phone right now. Is everything alright? There's a small problem here…"

"Uh, well… no," Gary said. "We got the Elite Four to help us, but they found something. The Twilight's Hammer created dark versions of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres – the ones from Shamouti Island. I was wondering if you'd seen them."

"Well, actually, that's the small problem I was talking about. A shadowy moltres flew over Pallet Town – I think it figured the town was already destroyed since everything's charred at the moment. It circled over here for a while and then headed south toward Cinnabar Island."

"Oh, thanks a million, Gramps! That's exactly the information I needed!"

"I take it you're going after these Twilight Birds."

"Yeah. Thanks, that's all I needed."

"Good luck, Gary."

"Oh, and Gramps?"

"Yes?"

"Agatha says hi." Professor Oak was silent. "Yeah, I love you too, Gramps. See ya."


	24. Outside the Cycle

People were pushing the ferries off Cinnabar Island to their limits. Had it not been for the Twilight's Hammer scare reducing the number of tourists on the island to begin with, they would have outright overloaded it. Mass panic ran rampant on the vacation resort as visitors tried frantically to escape the tyranny of the purple and black flame bird that had arrived recently. Twilight flames licked over wooden buildings and burned them to ashes. Beach umbrellas were reduced to charred poles. shadow moltres wheeled around the volcano, screeching madly.

It cried out in rage when it saw flying silhouettes approaching from the south – Kai, pidgeot, and charizard, now fully rested, were heading toward Cinnabar at full speed.

"Whichever demented cultist thought up these Twilight Birds deserves a swift kick in the teeth," Misty muttered. "We don't have time for this garbage!"

"The teeth?" Gary replied. "That's too kind. He deserves a swift kick elsewhere, if you catch what I'm saying."

"Look, there it is," Ash pointed at the Twilight Bird. It was not rushing toward them, but it had clearly seen them, because it retreated. It was trying to find a place where it would have the tactical advantage. It then decided on the inside of the volcano's crater – the gym's second arena. "Looks like this'll be my third battle at Cinnabar Gym."

"There's still a gym here?" Gary said. The last time he'd visited the island, he'd found that the old gym had been shut down. He hadn't realized there was a hidden one in the volcano.

"I told you so the first time we were here."

Gary paused. "…Right. Well, that's not important. Right now we need to kill that bird."

Pidgeot, charizard, and Kai landed on some of the pillars that rose up from the lava, facing the shadow moltres. It flared its purple wings, the black flames rising furiously. The bird glared at the adventurers with its glowing, blood red eyes. It then _spoke_ to them, albeit in a language none of them understood. No squawking accompanied its speech – it didn't even move its beak. It was projecting words with its mind. "Ywaq maq oou; ywaq maq ssaggh. Ywaq ma shg'fhn!"

Jessie looked at Meowth. "What did it say?"

"I got no idea," the cat pokemon answered, completely stumped by this dark bird's twisted language. It stared at them hungrily, waiting for them to make the first move so it could retaliate.

"Alright," Ash said, "I'll stay on charizard's back and try to get close to the bird. I won't be able to fight if I stay on one of these pillars. Gary and James, take pidgeot and Kai."

"James, you can ride my pidgeot. I'll ride on Kai's back," Gary offered.

"I'll stay at the back of the group, healing as usual," Misty said.

"Alright. The rest of us will just stay down here I guess. Meowth and I can shoot arrows and Jessie will just have to stay out of the way," Starwisp said.

Shadow moltres was still waiting patiently, staring them down. Its eyes reminded Gary of Sethria's eyes – burning red, full of nothing but hate, pure hate. The eyes that haunted his dreams. There was no soul in there.

The three fliers dropped their ranged passengers off, Misty in the back, the rest in front of her. James and Ash stayed on the winged pokemon, while Gary took his usual place on the dragon's back.

"Alright, let's go!" Ash said, holding onto charizard with one hand and wielding a sword in the other. The shadow moltres spread its wings and crouched, ready to launch into the air as soon as the warrior came close enough. The charizard dove down toward the bird; it shot up into the sky above and wheeled around to launch a dark flamethrower. Misty started casting a healing spell right away.

Though Ash had been useless in Northrend as an aerial archer, as a dragon-rider he had natural talent. He directed charizard down below the tops of the pillars, weaving between them gracefully. Shadow moltres followed after, James on pidgeot and Gary on the black drake hot on its tail, swords ready. The archers above looked around in confusion, while Misty fidgeted nervously – she didn't like letting her party members leave her line of sight; healers generally didn't.

Ash, shadow moltres, Gary, and James weaved around the pillars above the lava at high speeds, the hot air above the lava pools whistling around them. The Twilight Bird fell right into Ash's trap – instead of continuing to weave through pillars, Ash guided charizard to the edge of the arena – the sheer cliff wall of the volcano's crater. Moltres didn't realize this until Ash directed charizard straight up. It crashed into the wall as it tried to turn away, and pidgeot slammed into it, claws outstretched. Shadow moltres let out an explosion of twilight energy, blasting Gary's pokemon backwards. James lost his grip on the bird's feathers and fell toward the lava – Kai dove down to get him. Moments before he would have met a fiery end, the drake grabbed him in his claws and eased him out of the fall.

"Pidgeot," Gary ordered, "fly in front of the dragon and let him put James on your back." The bird pokemon obeyed its master's order, diving down in front of Kai.

Ash led the shadow bird up now, circling at high speeds around the rim of the volcano. Kai breathed fire at the Twilight Bird. Meowth shot an arrow at the bird. It shrieked and turned toward the center. The loss of forward momentum was enough that both of its chasers were able to catch up – James landed a nasty blow to the wing with his runeblade; Gary dug a massive gash in its side with Quel'Delar. Screaming in agony, the bird flew straight toward the pokemon. He ducked under the black claws.

Shadow moltres flew past and redirected its aim to the paladin directly in front of it. Misty braced herself and put up a bubble of divine magic. The bird's talons slammed into it, but the paladin didn't even move – the Light protected her fully. Instead, the Twilight Bird was sent into a spin, crashing into a pillar. It fell into the lava. The heroes waited nervously for it to reappear.

Moments later, the shadow pokemon burst out of the magma, spewing lava everywhere. Starwisp had been holding an arrow back, waiting for it. Now she fired and hit her mark! Its shoulder injured, the dark bird tilted and careened wildly. pidgeot shrieked as it flew straight at the disoriented bird. It locked its claws around shadow moltres's neck and the two fliers tumbled through the air. Meowth relaxed his bow for a moment – he couldn't fire his arrow now. The two broke away from each other and flew up above the volcano. Meowth fired, embedding his arrow in the dark moltres's wing. Misty healed the pidgeot and then cast an exorcism at the Twilight Bird.

Again the bird tried to dive down at Misty, but charizard – without Ash's orders – dove down and slammed into it, claws outstretched. The dragon and the shadow bird slammed into the top of a pillar, the charizard pinning the Twilight Bird to the stone. It let out a blast of twilight fire, burning both charizard and its trainer. Misty was pushing her healing abilities to the limit. Kai banked and blasted the dark pokemon with fire. He then swooped in behind the bird and his rider jumped off!

Gary slammed Quel'Delar into the Twilight Bird's back with all the momentum he and Kai had. Shadow moltres twisted and screamed and then started to tip backwards – Gary tried frantically to rip his sword out of the bird's back! Seeing what was happening, Ash jumped off charizard's back and grabbed the shadow moltres's neck. He struggled with the bird in its death throes just long enough to let Gary escape with his sacred sword and land on his knees at the edge of the pillar. Then the warrior let go and let the bird topple backwards into the lava below.

The fliers landed. Everyone present stood where they were, adrenaline rushing, hearts pumping. Gary, still on his knees, looked over his shoulder. "Thanks, Ash. I owe you one."

The fliers rested for a moment, then collected their riders. As Misty climbed onto Kai's back, she threw her arms around the mage. "That was so close."

"Well, I survived, so it's all good." He smiled at her. The fliers then took off to find the nearest pokemon center so the heroes could determine the locations of the next two birds. "One down, two to go."


	25. Gaze Into the Void

The heroes ignored the looks they were getting from the remaining people in the pokemon center. They went into the trainers' lounge to see if the news had anything about the Twilight Birds. They stared in anticipation at the television. Even if nothing came up, they'd take turns watching until they somehow got some information. After all, they had no idea where the two remaining birds were, and Kanto was far too large to search on their own.

The decision eventually paid off. Everyone sat up straight when the news anchor began to talk about exactly the creature they were hoping to find. "_A large, purple bird resembling the legendary zapdos has been seen in southeastern Kanto, terrorizing the rural populace. Reports claim the bird is headed westward toward Fuchsia City..._"

"Perfect," Starwisp said. "That's all we need to know. Let's get moving."

Within five minutes, the adventurers were in the air, headed toward Fuchsia City at top speed. As they arrived, they took in their surroundings. There had been structural damage from the cataclysm – how it had not caused the volcano on Cinnabar Island to erupt, yet had induced earthquakes under Fuchsia City, was unclear. The area was also scorched from being struck by lightning. The sky was covered in storm clouds that threatened to tear open and drench the city at any moment.

"There it is," Gary said. Shadow zapdos circled in the black clouds. It cawed furiously.

"Fly charizard closer," Starwisp told Ash, "I'm going to try to shoot at it." The warrior nodded and directed his pokemon toward the sickly-purple bird. Gary looked over his shoulder at Misty, who nodded. He didn't need to speak for her to know that he wanted her to hit it with the Light.

"Kai, you know what to do," the mage said. The drake acknowledged this by soaring toward the bird, taking in a deep breath to spit flames at his foe.

The shadow zapdos cawed again and shot a black thunderbolt at charizard, who narrowly avoided the attack. Pikachu, clinging to the fire pokemon's horns, replied with a thunderbolt of its own. An arrow struck the dark bird in the shoulder, followed quickly by a blast of Light as Misty cast her exorcism on it. Shadow zapdos cawed and turned northward, trying to escape the mob attack.

"Gul'kafh an'shel. Yoq'al shn ky ywaq nuul!" it cried out as it fled. It created a black rift behind it. Charizard, Kai, and pidgeot banked sharply and flew around a bit, disoriented. Then the rift vanished – it was an elaborate illusion of some sort.

The three heroic fliers resumed their pursuit of the fleeing Twilight Bird; Kanto zoomed by below them, and by now they were almost to the northern limit of the Safari Zone. Charizard and Kai tried multiple times to breathe fire at their quarry, even managing to singe its tail a few times. Starwisp had difficulty shooting around Ash, but managed a few shots. Misty was far out of her casting range – paladins were not meant to be ranged spellcasters, and their few spells with any range at all were still very limited compared to a true sorcerer's magic.

As they approached the coast, Kai managed to get close enough to the bird to actually do some damage. He blasted it with flames twice in a row. Shadow zapdos screamed in pain and rage and tried to fly up to the cooling vapor of the clouds.

"James, Jessie, hold on tight!" Gary shouted. "Pidgeot! Aerial ace! _Don't let it get away!_" The mage's bird obeyed, rocketing through the air and slamming into the shadow zapdos with its talons extended. The birds pecked and clawed at each other while they fell. It was all Team Rocket could do to cling to the pidgeot's feathers for dear life. Kai dove down after the falling birds, using his wings to help accelerate himself faster than gravity normally would. He gained on them, allowing Misty to cast a judgement and holy shock at the Twilight Bird as it plummeted toward the sea below. It let go of pidgeot and righted itself.

Twilight zapdos cast a thunderbolt at Kai, who roared in agony and nearly dropped his riders as he involuntarily thrashed. After a moment he pulled himself together and continued flying. Vermillion City – or what remained of it – was clearly visible now. The city had evidently been hit by a massive wave during the cataclysm and was now partially flooded.

The heroes chased the Twilight Bird to the city, where it banked and landed atop the gym. "Land and dismount," James said. The others obeyed. "Maybe we can coax it into thinking us easier prey and then we'll actually be able to figh-" Zapdos played into this plan eagerly, hopping down off the gym's roof. With a caw, it rushed forward and slammed its beak into the ground as Ash narrowly dodged the attack. The warrior retaliated by attacking the bird's face with his swords. It screamed and shocked him with black lightning. Ash collapsed, but a couple holy shocks from Misty and he was back on his feet.

James brought his runeblade down on the fiend's wing. It shrieked and pecked at the death knight repeatedly, denting his armor. Jessie threw rocks at the shadow bird, as it was all she really could do. Gary took advantage of the bird's distraction to put Quel'Delar into its side. Dark zapdos had had enough. It took flight and grabbed the mage in its talons, then threw him with all its might against the gym wall. He leaned against the wall, gasping for air and clutching his side; one or two of his ribs were broken. Even so, this was a relatively good condition to be in for one who had just been thrown against a building. It took Misty a few minutes to get to him, because she was too busy keeping James and Ash alive as shadow zapdos clawed, pecked, and shocked them.

Starwisp sidetracked the bird from them for a moment, hitting it with a distracting shot, then leading it aside long enough to Misty to get to the fallen mage and heal him. The pain had been unbearable for Gary, and still his body shook from the torment even though the source of his agony was gone.

Twilight zapdos lunged at Starwisp, slamming its beak into a nearby building as the night elf dodged the attack. Kai came to the rescue, blasting the bird with fire. This gave Ash time to divert the creature's attention again. Worked into a frenzy, the fiend dented and even broke the warrior's armor as it pecked at him. Blood covered its beak, painting it the same color as the horrible eyes.

The eyes, yes. Meowth aimed an arrow carefully and let it go – hitting his target precisely where he wanted to. Twilight zapdos let out a bloodcurdling shriek and flailed furiously, helpless to remove the arrow from its eyesocket. The tip of the projectile entered its brain, barely. Ash put the already-dying pokemon out of its misery by slamming his swords into its heart.


	26. Lost Souls

The group headed to the pokemon center, hoping that the city hadn't been abandoned after the cataclysm – as it turned out, they didn't even need to. Jessie pointed to a small stream, where little pieces of almost-melted ice floated. The ice had a strange aura about it.

"If we follow the river, we may find the shadow articuno," the warlock said. Everyone got onto the fliers and followed the stream. The farther upstream they got, the larger the blocks of ice were. By the point where the stream split from a larger one, there was not only ice floating on the water, but frost on the banks. At this point, they finally figured the aura out – instead of being tinged grey or blue like normal ice, this ice was tinted with shadowy purple. It was definitely the work of the Twilight Bird.

Soon, they reached Lavender Town – which was in the middle of a miniature winter. Snow covered the buildings and icicles hung off roofs. There was no other sign of articuno's presence. The adventurers continued to the tower.

"Well," Starwisp said, "I think we found the bird." A great hole had been broken in the wall of the tower, high off the ground. Icicles and snow coated the structure and froze over the windows. A particularly large amount of snow was piled up inside the hole. Kai landed to rest while they figured out the best way to attack, and the two pokemon followed him. The humans and the night elf dismounted.

Misty stood with her arms folded over her chest and looked up at the tower, unimpressed. "And to think I was scared of this silly place at one time…"

"We were ten," Ash reminded her.

"Yeah, but it just seems so laughable after what I've been through. This is sunshine and daisies compared to Icecrown Citadel."

"True, but there are still monsters inside," Gary pointed out. "Specifically, the one we're here to kill, so let's talk strategy. We have three options: climb the tower, fly in through that hole, or a combination thereof."

"Which do ya think it'll expect?" Meowth asked.

"It'll probably not expect to be followed in from the sky, so it'll be watching the stairway," James said.

"I disagree," Jessie said. "How would it know that people would climb _all the way_ up that tower to kill it? It'll probably dismiss the idea. Anyone equipped and brave enough to slay it would have access to the air."

"But on the other hand," Ash pointed out, "the hole in the wall is mostly blocked with ice and snow. I think articuno thinks it's already covered that potential problem."

"Imagine its surprise when charizard and I melt it all away," Kai said.

"So, it's probably not expecting either attack, or prepared for both," Misty said.

"Which means we should split the attack," Gary said.

"But what if it's already left?" Starwisp said. "It would be silly to climb all the way up there for a _chance_ at surprising a creature that might not even be up there. Or worse yet, if it leaves while half of us are inside the building, leaving only half the force outside to stop it."

"This _is_ true… So, all-out aerial assault through the hole in the wall," the mage concluded.

"Has my vote," Misty said. The others agreed. The fliers took them up to the hole in the wall, and the two dragons breathed fire at the snow and ice blocking their path, melting the obstacle away. They flew through the opening, one at a time. The heroes cautiously dismounted. Charizard moved forward, lighting the way with its tail-flame.

A voice suddenly broke the silence. "Shgla'yos plahf mh'naus…" Charizard turned its head toward the source of the sound – red eyes glowed in darkness. The fire pokemon swung its tail to face them, to illuminate the rest of the creature. It was _not_ the articuno. The gengar twitched a bit and moved unnaturally, its expression switching between aggression and fear.

Charizard was blasted suddenly from behind by a beam of ice. The fire pokemon was relatively unharmed, but angered. It waved its tail at the shadowy articuno that had revealed itself. The fire didn't scare it one bit – in fact, it actively _lunged_ at the dragon's tail. Kai opened his mouth and blasted the bird with fire, which should have been effective against the frost bird. The flames licked over a barrier – a wall of shadow ice the Twilight Bird was creating. Once the flames stopped, the ice was free to blast the black drake in the face. Kai reeled back in pain as the shards melted and mixed with his blood. Ash rushed out in front of his friends to defend them

The shadow articuno cried out. A haunter tried to wrap its claws around Starwisp's throat. Misty responded immediately by casting a judgement at it. The pokemon retreated in pain and shock, its malicious expression changed out for one of fear – both of the paladin and of the bird. Misty called out her vaporeon. "I'll handle the ghost pokemon – you attack the bird."

"Alright," Ash said. "Pikachu, help her."

Gary switched his pidgeot for his ninetales. "Ninetales, flamethrower on the shadow bird!" The mage waited for a chance to strike with his sword.

Jessie, useless in Kanto as always, had to rely on her pokemon, which was incidentally ineffective against all three opponents. "Arbok, try biting the ghosts when they become solid to attack." She wasn't even sure if it would work.

"Thanks for the help," Misty said, consecrating the ground. The ghost pokemon fled in terror, but soon came back, bloodthirsty and malicious. They had been friendly the first time she'd come to the tower. It was clearly the Twilight Bird's influence that was driving them to violence. The paladin tried to hold them at bay without hurting them.

Starwisp and Meowth aimed their arrows at the dark articuno. Two shots hit the bird in its fluffy black chest in rapid succession. It shrieked and stepped forward, shooting dark ice from its beak. James blocked most of the attack with his runeblade. Then he retaliated with his own frosty attack, driving his sword into the bird's wing as it tried to dodge the attack.

The gengar got past Misty and attacked Ash. A holy shock put it back in its place. The warrior was able to return to attacking the shadow articuno, slashing at its chest and forcing it backwards. It beat its wings powerfully, trying to blow the warrior away, but his plate armor helped him stay where he was. The bird chilled the moisture in the air around it to the point where it froze, creating a dark blizzard inside the building. Purple-tinged snow swirled in the darkness, further limiting the view in the shadowy room, lit only by the charizard's tail, Misty's attacks, and the glowing red eyes of gengar and articuno.

Gary tried to sneak around behind the articuno, but the haunter stopped him. He swung Quel'Delar, but it passed right through the ghost. Another blast of fire from Kai lit the room for a short time, allowing the heroes to take in their surroundings for a moment as snow melted and shadows were held at bay. Misty again tried to keep the ghost pokemon focused on her, casting an exorcism on the haunter. Sadly, this also drew articuno's attention right to where Gary was trying to not be noticed. He dodged the ice beam by mere inches.

Charizard lunged while the bird was distracted, sinking its teeth into the shadow articuno's neck. The dark bird flailed, spreading its purple wings and beating them wildly. Ninetales helped Misty by blasting the ghosts with fire. They retreated into the darkness, freeing Misty to attack the Twilight Bird. It was helpless to defend itself as wings of light appeared on her back and she cast an exorcism on it, followed immediately by a judgement and a holy shock. The Light was too strong for it, and it went limp in the charizard's grip, defeated.

"Now then… With _that_ out of the way," she said, "we can join Brock in Deepholm."


	27. Detour

The heroes waited in Stormwind's Trade District as Gary went reagent shopping, having nearly run out of the special rune tablets used for portal making.

"I don't get it," Ash said. "It's just a rune like any other. Can't he just draw it on the ground?"

Misty shrugged. "I'm sure there's a reason for it." She was reading a new poster on the heroes' call-board in the middle of the district.

"Hey, I'm back," the mage announced. "Sorry I took so long. Figured I should pick up some arcane powder – not that I use it for much, but it's good to have on hand."

"Welcome back. Guys, you might want to read this. 'By order of his royal highness, King Varian Wrynn, all able-bodied citizens of the Alliance are to report to Recruiter Burns in Stormwind Harbor. Adventurers and heroes are needed to help defend mercenary ships on their way to the New Island west of Stormwind.'"

"We don't have time for that," James said.

"How much are they paying?" Jessie asked, ignoring her comrade. He glared at her.

"Technically," Ash said, "we're not citizens of the Alliance. So that doesn't apply to us."

Starwisp cleared her throat. "_I_ am a citizen of the Alliance…"

"Oh, right."

"It says that the Horde is trying to establish a base on New Island. If they succeed, Stormwind will be in danger," Misty said. "If Stormwind falls, then the attention of the Alliance will be directed away from where it needs to be – Deathwing and his allies. We can solve this before it becomes an issue, and make some gold on the way. All we have to do is accompany the boat to New Island and help set up a base. Shouldn't take long."

"She has a point," Meowth agreed.

Gary sighed. "I have a bad feeling about this. But it looks like we haven't got much choice."

XXX

As the heroes waited on the dock for the boat, they couldn't help but overhear several conversations between soldiers.

"Why must we ride to battle on a mercenary ship? Used to be that we'd kill pirates as soon as look at them," a fresh recruit said.

A hardened soldier replied "See those ships in dock? They're the only ones that have returned from battle, and they're being repaired. I don't like it either, but it boils down to this: we pay the mercs to get us out there, or our troops get no reinforcements."

"That makes sense, I suppose. Just doesn't feel right."

"Welcome to the military, recruit."

Another pair of soldiers conversed.

"Earthquakes every other day, a crazy dragon tearing up the world, what's next?"

"Put all of that out of your head, recruit. I've been fightin' Horde for ten years now, and I've never seen it worse than this. Just stay focused on the battle in front of us, or you won't live to worry about the rest."

"Yes sir."

A third pair of soldiers, neither one a new recruit, discussed the arrival of Deathwing.

"I stopped by the park district on my way here. There's nothing left of it."

"Aye. I was here when the dragon attacked."

"He could've destroyed the entire city if he willed it. We were powerless to stop him."

"What drove him off, then?"

"No idea. It made no sense… He flew in, torched the park, then just flew off. If you ask me, the beast is insane."

Gary fidgeted impatiently. "If this boat doesn't show up by the hour, we're leaving, and this is some other adventurer's problem." Misty sighed and rolled her eyes. Ash just tried to ignore them.

"I think I can just make it out from here. Right on the edge of the horizon," the soldier who had been fighting the Horde for a decade said.

"Make what out, exactly?" the new recruit asked.

"New Island - just surfaced after the last earthquakes. It's what we're fighting for. On this front, at least. Toughest fighting I've seen. We lose that island to the Horde and Stormwind's as good as gone… and they know it."

Captain Taylor arrived. "That's enough, soldier. Now get your minds right! We'll be killing orcs within the hour."

There was a long pause before the recruit spoke up. "Yeah, I… I think I can see it too."

The captain looked the adventurers over. "I assume you're here to answer the call to arms."

"Quel'Delar's Chosen, at your service," Ash said. Taylor nodded.

"Assuming the boat gets here some time today!" Gary grumbled. Misty elbowed him in the ribs. "Ouch." The ship had appeared on the horizon, moving quickly toward the dock.

"Listen up! Our transport should be here momentarily. Fall in!" the captain shouted. The soldiers lined up. Quel'Delar's Chosen hesitated and then awkwardly fell in line with the rest of the soldiers. When the ship came into dock, Captain Taylor said "Alright, men! Move out!" and the whole line marched onto the boat.

"Come aboard, now. Step right up! Cap'n Samir is navigatin' this here ship non-stop to that there ocean over yonder… where we'll commence to assistin' the Alliance in their little skirmish with them Horde fellers. Easy money! Commission's to be dispersed evenly among any and all survivors!" a gray-haired man said. Quel'Delar's Chosen recognized him from somewhere – it took them a moment to figure out where from. His name was Mack Fearsen. He'd been in the camp in the Grizzly Hills where Drakuru had been caged. Misty shuddered at the memory. The ship left the dock.

A man with red hair in a long pony tail ran around the ship. "A_hoy!_ I'm _sailing!_"

"Don't pay Budd no nevermind... poor fella's got a few screws missin'," Mack said.

"Out on a boat! Way far away from the dock! Into the wind with the sky and _everything!_" He looked over the edge of the ship. "Ooh, shiny!" And with that, he flung himself out into the sea.

"Aww, Budd. Now what'd ya go an' do that for?" Mack said calmly.

The black-haired woman, Adarrah, ran to the edge. "Budd, no!" She started crying.

Quel'Delar's Chosen stood, staring and slack-jawed. "What the hell just happened?" Gary asked. Ash went over to try to comfort Adarrah, though he was wondering the same thing.

Captain Taylor shook his head. "Civilians…" Some time passed for those unfamiliar with Budd to get over the fact that a crazy man had just flung himself off a ship after a shiny object, and things returned to a surprisingly normal mood.

Misty stood at the edge of the ship, leaning on the railing, sea-winds blowing through her hair. It felt wonderful to be out on the open ocean, with the smell of salt in the air. Gary walked over behind her, put his arms around her waist and kissed her cheek.

"You know," Ash said, "there are rooms below deck… I'm just saying." The paladin and the mage both looked absolutely mortified. Before the warrior had a chance to laugh at them, he found himself polymorphed.

"Thank you," Misty said. "I was going to smack him…"

"You still can," Gary told her.

Captain Taylor interrupted them. "Fall in, men!" The soldiers rushed to get into formation. "That island on the horizon is our destination. It's where we will do our duty, for our king, for Stormwind and for her people! Every orc you slay today will bring honor to them, and to every soldier who has come before you. Hellscream has sent his best to take this island. We shall see to it that none return home. Today Hellscream shall learn the lesson that Thrall failed to teach him... Stormwind shall never fall!" The soldiers cheered. "Now make ready, for soon we'll be ashore."

"Captain!" Adarrah said suddenly. "Shipwreck off the starboard bow! There appear to be survivors!" Misty grabbed a coil of rope and headed toward the starboard side. There were indeed survivors sitting on the hull of their ruined ship, calling out for rescue. Misty was about to be the first to help them when gigantic sucker-covered tentacles shot up out of the water around the wreck. The people on the hull screamed.

"W-what the…!" Mack managed to cry out. The tentacles dragged the wrecked ship and its surviving passengers down into the depths. Everyone on board the mercenary ship was frozen with fear. Then, much to their terror, the tentacles shot up around their ship. The soldiers panicked. Starwisp reached for an arrow and shot one of the tentacles. Gary threw a fireball. Pikachu instinctively shocked one of the tentacles. It was useless. The tentacles grabbed various people and threw them overboard, then dragged the ship down, crushing it along the way. Those who had been thrown were knocked out by the force with which they were flung against the water. The rest were dragged down with the ship by the vortex created by the creature yanking the ship down faster than any accidental wreck.


	28. Down With the Ship

Misty's eyes fluttered slowly open. _Where am I? What just happened?_ She was dimly aware of her surroundings. Cool but not cold. Damp and leaky. Wooden. It smelled strongly of fish and salt. The ceiling was arched – no, that wasn't a ceiling. It was the hull of a ship. People were gathered near her.

"Misty! You're awake; thank God!" Gary hugged her tightly and kissed her.

Ash sighed in relief. "We were so afraid you wouldn't make it."

"How ironic it would have been if we'd lost you to the sea…" Gary muttered, letting go of Misty.

"You nearly did," a broken one said. The small, devolved draenei was standing behind the paladin. She turned to look at him. "You very nearly drowned, friend… Are you feeling alright?"

"I'm fine." Misty's mind finally cleared. She gasped. "Where's Tori? Kai, Starwisp? Team Rocket?" She looked around.

"I'm here. Tori's fine," the dark skinned boy said. He was sitting in the corner at the prow. A red whelp was shivering in his arms. When she heard Misty's voice, she leapt out of his arms and raced over to her.

The paladin looked around. Starwisp was at the stern end of the ship, tending to nearly-drowned soldiers, the death knight among them. James looked like he'd only recently recovered. Meowth and Pikachu were huddling in a wooden crate, trying to stay dry – Gary's magic was useless here, because no matter how many times he cast his drying spell, water would just drip down through the leaky hull again. The warlock was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh no…! Did we lose Jessie…?"

"No," Ash said, "she's using her warlock magic to breathe water. She's outside, gathering reagents for Erunak's spell – Erunak is the broken one, by the way." Misty sighed in relief. There was a pause.

"You know, Ash" the paladin said, "this is the second time we've gone down with a ship."

"You don't have very good luck with boats," Gary said. He grinned suddenly. "Maybe the sailors are right. Maybe it is bad luck to bring redheaded holy women on a ship."

"I'm a paladin, not a priest," Misty replied, grinning.

Moments later, the warlock returned, a bag of starfish slung over her shoulder and a conch shell under her arm. "Oh, James, Misty, you're awake now. Good. I was worried."

Erunak took the bag and the conch and took them to the barnacle-covered anvil in the back. Gary called out his absol so it would be able to benefit from the spell when it was cast – vaporeon didn't need it. A few moments later, he turned around and cast a spell on the group. "Now you can breathe underwater for as long as you remain in this region – Vashj'ir. Your armor shouldn't be so cumbersome down here anymore either. You should be able to move with ease. Now, hurry. There may still be soldiers out there you can rescue. Use the enchanted conch to grant them the same spell I gave you."

XXX

Misty used her vaporeon to help tow the unconscious soldiers back to the overturned boat. Together, they were very powerful swimmers. She wasn't sure how many of the soldiers would make it – most had practically drowned, though a few had passed out near air vents or floated on their backs on the surface. Ash even found one washed up in a pocket of air in another nearby shipwreck.

"Good," the broken said. "While you were gone I managed to revive some of the fallen soldiers. You have done well, but there is much more to do and I grow weary. I have expended a great deal of energy sending a distress message to Earthen Ring leadership, pleading for their help. I must rest if I am to be of further use to us here. Speak to the leader of the men you've saved and do what you can to help them prepare for battle. The naga are scouring the waters for us. It is but a matter of time before they return – and they will surely come in even greater force."

"I wonder if they'll tell Brock what happened to us," Ash mused.

"I bet he's worried about us," Misty said.

"As much as I'd like to rest, Erunak is right – we have to be ready when the naga show up to eat our faces," Gary pointed out.

Captain Taylor was among the revived soldiers. "These men are in no condition to fight," he said. "So many good men have been lost today. Without you, that number would be even higher. You have our gratitude. But, if what the shaman says is true, then there is no time to spare. The naga are scouring these waters looking for survivors. We are not yet ready to fight. You must buy us time to make preparations. Find the naga that hunt us and delay their efforts."

Quel'Delar's Chosen wearily dove back into the water and swam down to the deck and through the open door into the tropical waters outside. The water felt strange to breathe but not unpleasant. The salt didn't sting their eyes, and they were able to move with much more grace through the water than they normally would have. For Misty, of course, this was a sight to behold. The mage couldn't help but stare – she was so elegant in the water.

"I should probably teach you how to swim in case you get ripped off my shoulder," she said to the dragon whelp that curled around her neck. She pulled Tori off and let go of her. Then she demonstrated a dog-paddle, which looked somewhat silly, but it worked. The dragonling mimicked her and moved quite well through the water, using her tail as a crocodile would and boosting her speed with her wings.

"Misty, make her swim more often. See how she's using her wings?" Gary said. "If she keeps that up, learning to fly will be even easier."

"This is embarrassing," Kai said, taking his draconic form. "The whelp swims better than I do." He tried awkwardly to imitate Misty and her dragon whelp, paddling with his feet, beating his wings, and rippling his tail. The others laughed a bit. "_In my defense,_ there are no oceans in Outland."

XXX

"As we struggled not to drown, my men and I were forced to abandon our weapons and much of our armor. Erunak says to expect a major attack from the naga soon and I'm inclined to believe him. If we're going to stand a chance, we'll need your help to recover our lost armaments. They should be lying on the sea floor near our shipwrecks." Captain Taylor cleared his throat. "Also, I'm going to let you in on a little secret, since you've done us such a service. The men you've saved today aren't your everyday Stormwind troops. We belong to a special detachment of elite soldiers called the Stormwind Elite Aquatic and Land force – S.E.A.L.s for short. We were sent here not only to contend with the Horde, but to investigate the massive geological disturbances originating from the nearby sea floor. I tell you this because our top secret equipment lies in the bottom of some of our wrecked ships here."

XXX

Gary found his way to a trunk full of S.E.A.L. equipment, but he couldn't lift it, much to his embarrassment. He swam back out. "Guys, I found some of the gear."

"Good," Ash said, "just grab that an-"

"I-I can't…" the mage replied. "It's too heavy…" He blushed. Ash laughed and swam over.

"Here, you carry these instead. I'll go get the trunk. Wuss." The warrior shoved the five spears and the shield he was carrying into Gary's arms and swam off to get the trunk.

"Loser," was the mage's only reply.

"I have a challenge for you two," Starwisp said. "Ash, Gary. See if you two can go a whole day without bickering."

"What's in it for us?" Gary asked.

"Not gonna happen, 'Wisp," Misty told her. "Just not gonna happen."

XXX

"We're as ready as we'll ever be. No sense waiting around for the naga to find us. I'll address the men, then we'll meet the enemy on our own terms and let fate decide the outco-" Captain Taylor was interrupted.

"Captain! The naga! They've followed Quel'Delar's Chosen back to the ship!"

As if on cue, a naga burst out of the water. Gary yelped and blinked away and the scaly, reptilian monster lunged at the air where he'd been standing moments before. "Sssoftsskinss! Sssoon you shall ssserve my Lady!"

"Die, beast!" the captain shouted, charging the naga and impaling it through the throat with his newly retrieved spear. "We've been discovered... Hurry, heroes, there's little time!" The captain and his men equipped their S.E.A.L. gear and helms and dove into the water. Quel'Delar's Chosen followed quickly after.

The naga swarmed around the sunken ship. Ash hesitated, trying to figure out how to charge through water, and just decided it'd be better if he waited for the naga to come down to the sea floor to attack the soldiers. He swiped at the scaly creature, cutting through its natural armor with his razor sharp blades. Blood clouded the water around him, further fueling his berserker rage.

Misty was a particularly good fighter underwater. One naga after another fell to her blade and holy magic. Her cape billowed elegantly in the water as she spun, swam, and struck. Kai simply swam around tearing naga apart with his teeth – it took the soldiers a few moments to stop panicking when they saw a black drake shaking its head back and forth, blood clouds pouring out of the sides of its mouth. Gary had to assure them that the dragon was on their side.

Tori got her first taste of combat, clinging to Misty's neck as the paladin fought. A naga managed to disarm the girl. "Help! Somebody get my sword or kill this thing!" She struck it with a judgement. Toristrasza, not sure what to do, instinctively lunged at the naga that was grappling with the paladin. The dragon whelp bit the naga's nose. Blood clouded the water as the creature screamed. Gary swam up next to them and blasted the naga with a fireball – unlike natural fire, magic fire burned just as well underwater as above it. He handed Misty's sword to her.

"Good job Tori!" the paladin praised. "Thanks Gary."

"No proble-"

Misty interrupted him, casting a holy shock over Gary's shoulder. "_Behind y-!_" She didn't even get to finish her warning before the naga smacked the mage in the back of the head with the handle of his trident. Gary went limp.

A soldier screamed as a naga dragged him away. Jessie yelped as blood clouds billowed around her chest. A naga dragged her away too. One by one, every single soldier, every adventurer, except Erunak – where was Erunak anyway? – was taken away by the naga.

A naga grabbed Misty from behind and put his hand over her mouth and nose – though she could now breathe water, she still needed to breathe something. She panicked and struggled, but her vision started to dim. She went limp as her awareness of the world began to flicker and fade.

"What a fine sssspeciment you are. The Lady will be mosssst pleassssed…" The naga carried her away into a kelp forest. She was vaguely aware of a flash of red light and being released. Involuntarily, she gasped for air – or in this case, water.

"Misty," Erunak's voice rang out, "hang in there." She was picked up by a new pair of hands, these gentle. Her consciousness nearly failed, but she was placed on the sandy ground and a healing spell was cast on her. Misty snapped back to reality. She looked around. She had been moved to a clearing in the kelp forest by a giant shell. Her friends were there, but none of the S.E.A.L.s had been rescued. Additionally, none had been healed yet. Gary was still out cold; Jessie was clutching a bleeding wound in her lower chest. Ash's arm was limp, probably broken, and he was wincing in pain. Meowth was licking a bleeding gash on his wrist. Misty helped Erunak and the newly arrived shamans to heal everyone.

"The Earthen Ring has received my distress message and sent help – just in time it would seem. Hopefully more can be sent soon. We are but few against a great many."

"I think we may be up against more than we can handle for once…" the paladin muttered.


	29. Mere Survival

As the heroes rested, a massive seahorse – large enough to ride on – flitted curiously around the adventurers and their shaman companions.

"Oh, look!" Misty pointed to it. "It's just like a big horsea! How cute!" She stood up and inched toward it. It flinched back a bit when she reached toward it, but it came back to curiously put its snout against the paladin's hand. She patted it gently. After it became comfortable with her presence, she got on its back. It didn't even try to buck her off. She had a way with sea life. She laughed as she rode the seahorse around the giant shell.

"That's a brilliant idea," Jessie said suddenly. "Let's catch some of those and use them as mounts!" James recalled the last time he'd tried to catch a mount. The horses in the Grizzly Hills had not liked him. He sighed.

Ten minutes of trying to break seahorses in later, Quel'Delar's Chosen were fully equipped for sea travel. Then, they set out to help the shamans find survivors and rescue them. The first they came across was the black-haired woman from the ship. She was near an air vent, near death, trying her best to keep breathing in the air bubbles.

Jessie cast her underwater breathing spell on the woman. It wouldn't last long, but it would help keep her from suffocating. "Just breathe the water in – it'll change into air as it goes in," she told the drowning girl. She turned to her companions. "Go find some place safe for this girl – James and I will stay behind with her to make sure the spell doesn't wear off or sharks don't attack or something."

The others scouted the area. "Over here!" Gary shouted suddenly. "By these tube worms! There's a cave and the inside's relatively dry." The heroes brought the woman into the cave. Indeed, there was a massive air pocket and even dry stone and sand to sit on.

"Thank you," she said. "I didn't get a chance to properly introduce myself. My name's Adarrah." After the heroes introduced themselves, Adarrah made a request. "I'm afraid I must impose upon your kindness just a bit further. The captain of our ship, Samir, is still out there. Mack too. I'm sure they made it to the sea floor but beyond that I didn't see what became of them. I simply couldn't get by in a place like this without their help. I lost sight of them in a clump of kelp west of where you found me. Please hurry! They couldn't have gotten far."

"No problem. Guys, you can go look for Samir and Mack. I'm going to dig through the storage plane and see if I can build a bonfire in here," Gary said, already pulling things from the plane. "We really have to start keeping a bunch of wood in here…" He eventually got the fire going. Adarrah stood shivering next to it. Her stomach grumbled, so the mage conjured some bread for her. "It's not much, but it's all I can do."

The cave soon became comfortably warm. Soon, the other members of Quel'Delar's Chosen returned, with a weakened Captain Samir and unconscious Mack Fearson. James put the limp man next to the fire, and eventually he woke up.

The mage conjured a good supply of food and fresh water for his new friends. "When we leave, we can't take you with us, but this should last plenty long for the shamans to help you. We'll let them know you're here."

"Look at this," Misty said. She was near the entrance to the cave, holding an empty bottle and a piece of paper. "It's a note from a soldier who escaped from an underwater naga prison. He needs help! Maybe he's one of our shipmates!"

"Adarrah, Mack, Samir. You're going to be alright, aren't you?" Ash asked.

"We'll be fine," Samir told him. "Thanks to you and your friends. We'll be able to hang on until we're rescued."

XXX

"Erunak, take a look at this." Starwisp showed the bottled message to the shaman, who created an air bubble with his totem, and unfurled the paper within it. Kai informed the dwarf shaman nearby of the location of Mack, Samir, and Adarrah.

After a moment, the broken said "I believe I've located the author of your note, friend. It would seem that he is in desperate need of attention if he is to survive. I shall attune one of my scrying orbs, that you might see him for yourself."

He allowed them to look into a crystal ball. Quel'Delar's Chosen gathered around to watch the vision as it led them to a cave, much like the one they'd left Adarrah and her friends in.

"Alright. Mount your seahorses and head in. We'll follow shortly after," Erunak told the heroes. The school of seahorses made their way to the cave from the vision. Once inside, they found a cold, quiet man lying on the ground. Gary built another fire.

"This should warm him up."

"H-humans…? Here…? I… I must be mad. Have I… died?" the man choked. His lips were dry. The mage conjured a bottle of water.

"Here, drink this."

"Does he live?" Erunak asked as he arrived.

"Barely," Misty answered.

The soldier's mind seemed to clear. "I don't know why, but those monsters are going out of their way to keep our men alive. Our soldiers… they're all captives now. Many of us tried to escape the naga. I am the only one who succeeded."

"Who are you?" James asked.

"Private Reginald Pollard, 13th brigade, Stormwind infantry… Sir."

"How did you get here, and how long ago?" Starwisp asked.

"We had them in our sights, the Horde ships… then out of nowhere, tentacles reached up and seized our ship! Broke it right in two! The survivors… we were captured by naga as soon as we hit the water. That was nearly a week ago…"

"You're not one of ours, then," Misty muttered. "What can you tell us about your captors?"

"Strange. Never thought the naga would go out of their way to keep us alive. They create these pearly bubbles, one per man, to make it so we could breathe. Every day they send a bunch of the prisoners off… somewhere. Never see them again."

"How'd you get out?" Ash asked.

"Another soldier somehow got free and broke a bunch of our pearls. He freed us. Some swam up towards the surface; some saw this cave and swam for it. I'm the only one that made it."

"Did you meet Captain Taylor or his men there?" the paladin questioned.

"No telling. They brought new soldiers in every day. Horde and Alliance, both. Some would get hauled away the same day. Others, like me, kept there for a week… maybe more."

"Hmm… Are there any weaknesses we can exploit? Holes in their defenses?" Gary asked.

"Don't even try it, mage. Get out of here while you can. There are too many. It's certain death."

"He's right," Ash agreed. "We can't go up against the naga. At least not right now. Not in this condition."

The mage sighed. He _was_ pretty tired. "We'll camp here for a night. But tomorrow… I just hope tomorrow isn't too late."

The young sorcerer looked around in the firelight as his friends drifted off into sleep. Misty rested her head on his shoulder. He could feel her breathing… so calm, peaceful. His sleep would not be so restful.

The night sky was black. No moon, no stars, just black. The skeletal forest around him was dark and devoid of life, except the enormous bird that rested atop a charred oak tree. Its wings were spread, frozen in the darkness, more than twice the span of a pidgeot's. Gary dared not breathe. Its eyes, piercing red in the darkness, stared through him. Lightning flashed; the bird – a roc or rook was what the mage wanted to call it – was gone. Gary looked around the dead forest.

"All that you know will fade, and you will be alone in the end." How he knew, he wasn't sure, but Gary sensed that it was the rook speaking to him. He shivered as he wandered into a shadowy town. The buildings loomed ominously, black, cold, lifeless. No people, yet the houses weren't in ruin. Coldly familiar. "The silent, sleeping, staring houses in the backwoods always dream… It would be merciful to tear them down…"

"Go away!" the mage shouted at the invisible source of the voice. "Leave me alone!" Everything was dark.

"There is a little lamb lost in the dark woods… Does he dream while he sleeps, or is it an escape from the horrors of reality?" The chilling realization dawned on Gary. This shadowy, broken town he walked through like a lost puppy was his own hometown.

But then it wasn't. Suddenly it was underwater. "The fishes know all the secrets. They know the cold. They know the dark. In the sunken city, he lays dreaming." Red eyes, fiery and hateful, the same eyes that had been haunting him for days, snapped open in front of Gary and stared at him. "At the bottom of the ocean, even light must die…"

His eyes snapped open and he gasped. He was in the cave. He was safe. The fire still crackled reassuringly. He hadn't cried out, but apparently Gary had flinched or otherwise moved, because he woke Misty up.

"Are you alright?" she whispered.

"Yeah. Bad dreams again."

"About what?"

"…Weird things. Telling you would just give you nightmares too. Go back to sleep, Misty…" Both of them were so tired, it didn't take long for them to do so. This time, the mage's sleep was more restful.


	30. Accidental Heroes

The next morning – they assumed it was morning rather than early afternoon; it was hard to tell underwater – Quel'Delar's Chosen raided the nearby naga camp, slaying the scaly monsters, destroying their weapons, and freeing their prisoners – or at least, sending them to the surface in their pearly bubbles and hoping that someone would find them and get them out, for there was no way for them to break the bubbles. For good measure, they killed the warden, too. When they were finished, there was nothing left of the camp but blood, corpses, and ruins. They returned to the cave, where Erunak was waiting.

"We will need to press deeper into Vashj'ir if we want to uncover what the naga are doing here. Go to the Lightless Reaches, the giant chasm bordering the Kelp'thar Forest to the west. If you look across it, you should see a cluster of tube worms surrounding the entrance to Damplight Chamber. Once you're inside the cave, it's a bit of a ride up until you break surface, but I have friends there that should provide you a warm welcome."

"What about Pollard?" Ash questioned. He was told not to worry; the shamans would take care of him.

The heroes summoned their seahorses outside the cave. Misty's steed was the friendliest, fluttering its fins happily as she stroked its snout. "I wish I could keep you."

"Come on," Kai said, "let's get going." He was getting better at swimming, as was Toristrasza. Six limbs and a tail were a lot to coordinate underwater, but they provided a lot of power, enabling him to keep up with the swift fish. They left the beautiful kelp forest and crossed the chasm, into the cave and up the tunnel. To their surprise, an entire camp of shamans was in the air cave.

"Ey, dere," a troll greeted them. "You look more capable than most o' dem comin' through. Make yaselves at home." After everyone had settled in, he said, "Can ya feel how angry the elements be? They be wantin' to attack us and consume us even as we just arrive. We need ta calm dem, but we need ta know what's riling them up in da first place. Come sit with me by da fire. Let yaself get lost in da flames… let ya spirit peer into the true threat."

Some of them – Starwisp, Misty, Gary – were more easily able to enter the fire-trance than their comrades, who had to simply sit and wait while the others were attuned to the troll shaman's vision.

XXX

"Dis breach leads to tha plane of water. Tha realm of Neptulon, tha Tidehunter. Tha naga and de Twilight Cult be workin' together, and dis be the focus of dere efforts. Disturbin' prospects. And dere be little we can be doin' about it witout more men."

Those who had entered the vision examined the rift. It was much like the whirlpool that had formed around Thrall. Despite being between water and water, the boundary was very clear, like that between water and oil. Around it, naga and Twilight's Hammer cultists gathered.

"_Dear god, is there nowhere they won't go?_" Misty asked.

XXX

"Now would be a good time for the four of them to come out of their trances!" Ash said, as he fought off the naga. Pikachu finally got to be useful. It couldn't attack underwater without shocking its own allies, but now, in the air, it could shoot sparks all it wanted.

The trance ended, and after a moment of confusion, the archer, mage, paladin, and shaman joined the fray. Starwisp backed against a wall – she had little room to work with. Elementals ran about under the command of the leader of the naga, Zin'Jatar, joined the attack.

"Before the day is done, you shall all be slaves or corpses!"

"I'd sooner die than be a slave, and _I don't feel like dying today!_" Gary said, readying a pyroblast.

Ash was caught between three naga; there was no way he could fend them all off in three directions. Kai came to his aid, spewing flames. Jessie drained the life from another naga.

"Enough! Have your cave, little shamans!" Zin'Jatar shouted, as his naga retreated. He then cast a spell and sent a massive wave of water sweeping across the whole cave, slamming everyone into the cave wall. Some were knocked out by the impact. Others cracked bones and cut flesh on sharp rocks and their blood pooled in the water. A few escaped unharmed. Those who were still conscious dragged the others back out of the seawater and onto the stone around the now extinguished campfire.

Misty started trying to heal the fallen, the injured, and the weary. Gary, on the other hand, called out to Starwisp and Jessie. "Come on, they're getting away! _Hurry!_" He dove into the water and summoned his seahorse, then took off after the fleeing naga. He threw ice lances at them, spearing them as he rode past. Jessie followed soon after, throwing green fireballs.

Starwisp's arrows were less useful underwater, but if she got close enough, she could still kill the escaping serpents. "_Die, fiends!_" the night elf shouted. She had a particular hatred for the naga, as they did for her. They managed to hunt down most of the fleeing naga, but a few got away as the heroes reached the edge of a deep chasm. For the first time they got to look at their surroundings – they'd left the kelp forest behind and were now in a colorful coral reef. Across the chasm was a strange creature, a giant, spiky shell with tentacles limply hanging from the sides. The others soon followed them, along with a taunka man. The heroes couldn't remember ever meeting a taunka before, and did a double take, at first mistaking him for a tauren. No, his horns were too short, his face too flat, his mane too thick.

"Did the leader escape?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think he got away. The few that escaped headed in that direction," Jessie said, and pointed past the giant shell.

"Most of the other Earthen Ring that escaped the massacre on the boats have taken shelter in a cave a short swim down from the ridge. It's tucked midway up a huge rock formation, west of Nespirah, that gigantic shell over there. I need you to make sure they're okay. There's no telling how many naga might have attacked them as well. I'm going after their leader; I'll send word if I find him."

"Right." The heroes sought out the cave the man had spoken of. Indeed, there were many shamans there. It was a well-equipped cave, too. Beds, makeshift lamps made of glass bottles and burning oil, and a table filled the cavern out quite well.

"A friendly face! Welcome!" an orc woman said.

"I guess everything's alright then? No naga attacks? The other cave just got hit pretty hard," Misty said.

"Very kind of you to come check on us. We're fine. A naga scouting force did find us, but I'm pretty sure none escaped. We should be safe for now." Not long afterwards, a water elemental arrived with a message from the taunka man.

XXX

The injured naga leader, backed into the ruins of a highborne night elf temple, stood no chance of escape. The adventurers slew him easily. When the blood in the water cleared, Jessie took the mithril-and-pearl necklace Zin'Jatar had been wearing. "This should fetch a couple dozen gold!" She should have been able to detect what Gary did, but her greed blinded her.

He snatched the necklace out of her hands. "Wait, this is a magical artifact!" The mage examined the pearl intently. "The mithril is nothing special, but the pearl… That's quite a lot of magical energy for something so small."

XXX

Back in the cave, the heroes rested. Gary further investigated the magical pearl. A tauren with a broken horn, who had introduced himself as Duarn, approached in curiosity. "What's that you've got there?"

"Magic pearl," the mage replied.

"May I see it?" the tauren asked. Gary handed it over. Duarn pulled another pearl out of his pocket and compared the two. "This is precisely what I was looking for…" He gave the pearl back to the mage. "The naga can only be obtaining these pearls from one place: Nespirah, the ancient, shelled creature that rests outside of this cave. Why Nespirah would submit to the naga and allow them into her body, however, is beyond my understanding."

"Can we talk to it – err, her?" Ash asked.

"We can try," Duarn said. "I shall fetch Master Erunak. Meet me at Nespirah's head."


	31. Nespirah

The heroes gathered around Nespirah's head. It was large and round like a sea turtle's, with four purple and gold eyes that glanced around wildly, as if in panic, or else in spasms caused by complete lack of control. Her face drooped downward so that her mouth faced the seafloor, surrounded by limp tentacles. A pair of longer tentacles, very reminiscent of a tentacool's, but bioluminescent, waved around nearby, moving however the currents of the sea made them. Next to her head there were two tubes – vents of some sort. Duarn and Erunak gestured to one of the tubes and entered it.

"We're going inside a giant… _thing_…" Misty muttered, following them into the tube. It was one of the stranger things that had happened. To the adventurer's surprise, not very far into the tube – which turned out to be spiral shaped and easy to climb up – the water stopped. The rest of the way up into Nespirah's main chamber was full of air.

"This has got to be the weirdest thing I've ever done," Jessie commented. "And coming from me, that means something." Finally, the tube opened out into the cavernous interior of the creature. It was surprisingly spacious, with far fewer things inside than would be expected.

"Her body appears even larger from the inside. Fascinating!" Duarn said.

"Amazing," Erunak agreed. The heroes tried to take it all in. They were standing on a ring of firm flesh. Around the inner side of this ring were great fleshy pillars that served to help hold up the massive canopy of flesh, on which there were many blue bioluminescent plates like those seen on the outside of Nespirah's shell – these lit the chamber. Between these pillars, sheets of thin skin or membranes, with blood vessels visible within, hung down like natural curtains. Beyond the pillars, the 'floor' dropped down about a yard, then smoothly dipped into a bowl shape. Throughout this bowl there were more flesh pillars, but these rose from round pits in the bowl, filled with truly gigantic pearls larger than electrodes. In the center, the bowl once again dropped down into pit. This pit, however, held the creature's massive heart – or at least the heroes assumed it was a heart, judging by the way it pulsed – which was suspended between strong ropes of flesh stretching from the top of the chamber into the pit below. The heart, floating in the middle, was lumpy and covered in bubbles that seemed to breathe. Maybe it was a lung, not a heart. Nobody could tell.

"Where's her digestive system?" Gary couldn't help but wonder. Nespirah did have a mouth, so it must connect to something, yet the pulsing organ in the center was the only one present.

"Probably below in another chamber," Erunak told him.

Earthmender Duarn pointed into the bowl. "Look, heroes. I see humans and orcs, chained up as slaves, mining Nespirah's pearls. And I see naga holding the whip. Something must be done." Moments later, he headed off in another direction. "What's this over here?" The heroes followed him as he entered what turned out to be Nespirah's brain chamber. Her brain was surprisingly similar to that of a human. It was half embedded in her skull, and half exposed to the chamber. Whether it was this way naturally or if the naga had forcibly excavated it was unclear. Electricity arced over the brain wildly.

Erunak Stonespeaker looked at the tauren. "This job is well-suited for you, Duarn. I must attend to matters outside. Good luck to you too, heroes." With that, the broken left.

Duarn put his hand on his chin. "I can't believe that Nespirah would willingly allow these naga to take residence inside her shell. As I see it, one of two things has happened: they have convinced her to willingly join their cause, or they have weakened her to a point where she cannot fight back. Either one is bad. Here in this chamber, I should be able to communicate directly with Nespirah. Let us find out for ourselves." He cleared his throat. "Spirit of Life, lend me your aid! Grant me the clarity to speak with this creature!" The shaman channeled energy into Nespirah's brain, but after a moment, he shuffled around awkwardly. "Nothing happened. Something's preventing me from speaking with her. In time I should be able to break the barrier, but it may be quite a wait."

Misty pulled a length of rope out of the storage plane. "While you do that, I have slaves to rescue. Who's with me?"

"And I've got naga to massacre!" Gary said. "Count me in, Misty."

"Try not to burn Nespirah," Ash said.

"Oh," his old rival said. It hadn't occurred to him. "Yes, that could be a problem. No flamestrikes, no blast waves, no blizzards, no frost novas… And I can't miss with my fireballs. And Misty can't consecrate the ground – not that she would have to, since these are just naga…"

"So just use fireballs and don't miss," James said. "Let's kill some naga."

The heroes fought through the naga, avoiding the blobs of red ooze – blood? The slimes slinked about aimlessly, and seemed fully unaggressive as long as they weren't attacked. A naga enchantress threw a frostbolt at Misty, who blocked the spell with her shield. Gary answered with a fireball, and Jessie threw a shadowbolt. A male naga with a trident hissed and charged at the casters. Gary blocked the trident with Quel'Delar. Afraid of breaking the sword between the prongs of the trident, he let the naga twist it away with no resistance. Ash came to his aid, a frenzy of blades, slicing the naga apart. It dropped the trident and the mage was free to retreat with his sword intact. Pikachu had to be very careful not to shock Nespirah, but it managed to shock the naga fighting its master. Starwisp helped out with a well-aimed shot, while Ash continued attacking the naga until it died. The caster that Jessie was exchanging spells with didn't expect Gary to blink behind her and slam an ice lance into her back at point blank range.

The adventurers pushed forward and the second pair of naga didn't fare much better. The female was interrupted mid-cast by a powerful hydropump from vaporeon. Meowth shot the male naga in the chest, but it charged at him, managing to skewer the cat on his trident. The pokemon let out a sharp yowl of pain as he tore himself off the trident, causing further damage. Misty healed him right away. James charged and swung his great runeblade – the naga blocked it with his trident. The death knight grabbed the trident and swung again with one hand; while he hit his mark, he didn't have the full force to decapitate the naga. Blood spilled out of the severed artery and the naga died swiftly. The caster naga was on the receiving end of a chaos bolt from Jessie, followed by a pyroblast from Gary. She died very quickly. Misty was already lowering the rope into the pearl pit, but she couldn't hold it up when the miners tried to climb it – Misty was simply too small and weak to support the weight of a fully grown male orc with a rope. Team Rocket joined in and dug their heels in to help her keep the rope up for the miners to climb.

XXX

"Everything in my body tells me that Nespirah is trying to speak with me, but I cannot hear her. Perhaps the naga have done something to her voice," Duarn muttered. He thought for a moment. "Perhaps… we need to find a voice for her! Hmm. I've got it! The Idra'kess have been known to train deepseeker crabs as battle companions. Use this net to capture a crab, and bring it to me. You will likely find them prowling the chamber's outer edges."

There was a pause. "A crab?" Gary asked, after a moment.

"Yes, a crab." Duarn paused, figuring that perhaps the Lost, as people from another world, might not know what a crab was. "Small shelled animal that lives in the sea. Has nasty pinchers."

"I know what a crab is, thank you. Just seems a bit… odd." With that, the heroes turned away and went to find and catch a crab.

XXX

"Here's your crab, sir," Gary barely managed to get the sentence out before breaking into hysterical laughter as he held out the crab by its shell. It waved its claws wildly, but was unable to do anything about the mage that held it aloft.

"A trained shaman has the ability to communicate with the four elements of earth, fire, air and water. This is known. What is not as widely known, however, is the presence of a fifth element. This element is not as clearly described as the other four, but it has to do with the shared… commonality between all living creatures. My theory is that the crab, as a creature of the sea, is close enough to Nespirah that, with the elements' coaxing, we can convince it to act as Nespirah's mouthpiece."

Again, there was an awkward pause. "Well, this should be interesting," James muttered.

The crab ended up floating above Nespirah's brain, an orb of green energy around it. More energy linked the brain to the orb as the crab flailed helplessly.

Suddenly the crab spoke. "Kkkk... aaahhh...! What's happening? Can you hear me? I can't see you, but I can sense your presence. I'll explain what I can. The naga are suppressing my will. I can feel what they're doing, but I am powerless to act. I will _not_ be a tool of the naga. I will resist as long as I can, but I can't last forever. Please, someone, stop them!"

Jessie pinched her arm to make sure this wasn't some strange dream.

"You are not the only ones fighting within my shell. A small group of Alliance slaves has escaped from the naga. They're on the other side of my body, near my heart. I assume they're Alliance at least – it's very hard to tell. All I really know is that they are not naga. They walk like you."

"Thank you, Nespirah. I will remain here with you. Quel'Delar's Chosen, the others here, will go seek the escaped slaves."

XXX

Captain Taylor nodded as the heroes explained the situation. "I see. So the creature wants our help waking it up, is that it? With hundreds of slaves already picking away at her pearls, the beast seems to be a pretty heavy sleeper. You might have better luck, though. My suggestion? Look around the creature's flesh for signs of weakness. Maybe that weapon of yours will find a ticklish spot and force the beast to come to its senses."

The Admiral had another task for them. "I honestly don't know how we've survived this long. The naga took my armor and weapons, and left me with rags and a mining pick – and _that_ snapped in half long ago. If we're to stand any hope of turning the tide, I'm going to need something to fight with... as will my companions, though they may be too proud to admit it. I've seen weapon racks in the naga storage areas nearby. I'm not accustomed to fighting with a trident, but it'll sure be better than fighting with my fists."

"Alright, let's go then," Ash said.

"Wait," the draenei woman said. "My time in the pearl pits, however short, has made me curious about the naga's goals. Yes, I now know that the naga want to use Nespirah as an engine of war, but if that's the case, then why are they enslaving men to mine her pearls? Assuming we escape this creature's hull, I would very much like to study these objects. The pearls we found in the pits were much too large to carry, but I've seen the warlords and prophets occasionally carrying around smaller ones."

XXX

Misty looked at the bulging nodule of flesh and raised her sword – but she couldn't do it. Her empathy was getting in the way. It would be like a tiny person inside her own body sticking needles into her organs. No, she couldn't do that to Nespirah. "Someone else do it…"

Ash didn't seem to have any problem at all. "Why?" He asked, genuinely confused as he jabbed the lump with his sword.

"I just… imagine how it would feel, and then I can't do it."

Aeroth crashed into a pillar of flesh and hooted loudly, announcing Starwisp's return. The night elf had four tridents slung over her shoulder.

XXX

The heroes handed over their tridents and pearls – well, most of the pearls. James cleared his throat and held his hand out to Jessie, waving his fingers as though trying to get her to hand him something she owed him. "Jessie…" She bit her lip and looked away, pulling a handful of pearls out of her pocket and then dropping them on his outstretched hand. "Thank you."

"My men are flagging, heroes. We won't last much longer against these naga, I'm afraid. With the Idra'kess' weapons, and Nespirah's pearls, we should be ready to bust out of here. Follow the wall to the southeast, and look for a ramp to the upper chamber. I assume their leader is in there, or perhaps the key to Nespirah's awakening. Hopefully both. If you feel strong enough, head up to the top of the shell and look for some answers," Captain Taylor said.

Leaving another trail of slaughtered naga in their wake, Quel'Delar's Chosen found the tunnel and made their way up it. The tunnel itself was intestine-like, but the chamber on top was much like the one below. It was smaller, yes, and lacked the pillars. The luminescent scales were on the floor now rather than the ceiling, and lit everything from below. Otherwise, it was much the same. There was even a pulsing heart in the center, though this one more closely resembled a human heart.

There were three naga in the chamber – two females, one male. The male was very different than the normal naga. He was red and lacked scales. His body resembled a sea slug. His right arm was little more than a giant cone-shaped seashell from the elbow down, including the claws that protruded from the opening at the end. His left hand was covered in barnacles, and he wore another seashell as a shoulderguard on that side. A purple toga adorned his body, wrapped around him to allow the massive sunset-golden sail on his back to stick out. His head was the strangest of all. He lacked eyes entirely, as his upper jaw and the top of his head were a bony shell with some sort of fur sticking out between the layers of plates. His lower jaw stuck out past this and massive teeth too large for his mouth formed a spiky ring around his mouth.

The females channeled magic into a bubble around him. Meanwhile, he channeled magic into Nespirah's heart.

The mage assessed the situation and divided the party so that the teams were balanced – each had a caster, each had an archer, etc. "Team Rocket, including Meowth, take the one on the left. Absol and vaporeon will go with you. Starwisp and Ash, come with me; pikachu and Aeroth too. We'll attack the one on the right. Misty, stay back and heal," Gary said. "Ready? Let's go."

The assault opened with arrows, followed by magic. James and Ash charged in to protect their ranged fighters. Aeroth swooped down on the naga, clawing at her wildly and getting in her way, beating his wings in her face. Absol grabbed the sorceress's arm in his jaws. Electricity lit the area and an ice beam slowed the naga's casting speed considerably. Yes, the frostbolts the naga threw hurt, but Misty was easily able to keep up, and the sorceresses were down in no time. The overseer's magic shield broke.

Ash immediately charged. He didn't expect Idra'kess to be so strong – the naga tore right through his armor with the shell-claw. James tried to attack the naga's neck, but the shells all around it made that impossible. Instead, he tried to drive his runeblade into the overseer's heart – surprise, under his toga there were more plates. Frustrated, the death knight cast a bolt of unholy magic at him. Gary's pyroblast actually did quite a bit of damage, and the mage followed up with fire blasts and scorches. Jessie cast her full arsenal of curses, banes, and other long-lasting spells before throwing a shadowbolt and immolate. Vaporeon used hydropump, knocking the naga back about a yard and opening it up for attack. Ash ripped some of the plates out of the naga's skin by using his swords as crowbars, rending flesh and sundering armor. Even Misty joined the assault, casting a judgement. Starwisp fired an arcane shot and a poisoned arrow in quick succession. Absol grabbed the naga's fin and tore it apart. Starwisp then let off a kill shot, a special shot meant specifically to land a killing blow. As the naga collapsed, Nespirah shuddered. The heroes summoned their mounts and returned to the brain chamber, passing the abandoned Alliance holdout on the way.

They could hear the crab talking to Duarn as they approached the chamber. Nespirah had been tracking them and narrating what she could understand as the adventure took place. Captain Taylor had filled in the rest of the details on the way out. When Quel'Delar's Chosen arrived in the chamber, Nespirah thanked them and told them she had a small surprise for the naga.

"I am freed from the naga's servitude, and my will is once again my own! My body is already starting to fight the naga infection. Please, I ask you to get to safety before I unleash my wrath! You may leave now, friends. The tauren's friend Erunak should be waiting outside. In fact, it looks like he is here now."

The broken entered the chamber. "I have secured escape for us. You are to come with me. Duarn – excellent work. Do not dally long within Nespirah's shell. You know as well as I do the dangers posed by an angry demigod."

"Worry not, Erunak. The tauren will be safe. Go now!" Nespirah said.

"Alright, let's go," Misty said. They followed Erunak out of Nespirah's shell and into the ocean, where they mounted their seahorses to make their escape.


	32. Echoes of the Past

"You know, I'm actually kinda starting to like this," Misty said. She, Gary, Starwisp, and Team Rocket were resting in the cave. The paladin and mage were sitting by the fire, along with Aeroth, who was sprawled out with his wings outstretched near the fire, trying to dry his soaked feathers. The Rockets were leaning against the wall of the cave, talking about something quietly, and Starwisp was taking a nap. Ash had been willing to retrieve food and supplies from the soldiers that the gnome – Hexascrub, he was called – had outfitted with makeshift diving gear. The longer they were under the surface of the ocean, the more sophisticated the group of shipwrecked heroes and soldiers became, developing new weapons, armor, and supplies for the sake of survival alone. It had reached a point where, as Misty said, the living was actually becoming somewhat comfortable. "I could get used to this sort of life… living under the waves, off the bounty of the sea… It's a shame we couldn't have come here when there were no pressing issues at hand. Then we could really enjoy this."

The mage looked at her thoughtfully. "Being able to breathe underwater has really unlocked a whole new world for you, hasn't it, Misty?"

"Yeah. I mean, I've always considered water my element, but… I could never really immerse myself in it – pun not intended – because I always had to come to the surface for air, obviously. Being an air-breather had me tethered to terrestrial life. Now that limitation is gone, and… well, I feel at home. If the naga weren't so evil, I think maybe I'd even want to be one of them."

"Hm." Gary looked into the fire. As Misty lost herself in the sea, he could lose himself in flames. Fire and water. Polar opposites. He smiled. After a moment, he replied, "I don't think you would. They're awfully ugly. Well, the females look okay, I guess, but… they're nowhere near as pretty as you. I just-" he suddenly burst out laughing. When he stopped, he finished what he was saying. "I have a hard time picturing you as a scaly snake-woman!"

The paladin laughed as well. "True!"

"What's all the laughter about?" Ash asked, climbing out of the water with a bag over his shoulder.

"Ah, nothing," Gary said.

With that, everyone got up and stretched, cracked stiffened joints, and generally prepared to get back to work. It seemed like they'd been doing absolutely nothing but fighting lately – actually, that wasn't too far from the truth. Even they were beginning to grow weary.

The captain gave them their assignments – destroy the naga warning systems and kill as many of the things in the ruins of the city as they could find. A night elf woman gave them an additional task. "Look, I need your help. I know most everyone in this cave thinks that we're not in a position to be worrying about anything but our own hides right now, but I cannot dismiss my ancestors so readily. All I want from you, while you're out in the city proper, is to keep a watchful eye out for objects of significance. The statues interest me especially."

Starwisp nodded in understanding. "We will."

They were not prepared for the awe-inspiring ruins. The city sprawled before them, ruined and covered in algae, kelp, and coral. The white, Roman-like buildings were splashed with green, and between them were streaks of vivid color in the reefs. Rays drifted gracefully through the arches and around columns. Statues of elves still stood in places, along the paved roads leading to ruined temples and houses. But this was just the ground-level. Behind all of this was a massive wall – no, not a wall, a raised plaza. In the corner of this was a circular complex, layers and layers of white stone held up with strong columns, kelp and algae hanging like icicles. It was massive, towering high into what was once the sky. Gary suddenly put two and two together.

"_Good god, these buildings must be over ten-thousand years old! _Pre-sundering highborne cities…! _Think of the history! The relics, the magical artifacts and long-lost spells, the inscriptions, the…_" His voice failed him in his excitement and resorted to flailing his arms to vent the sheer exhilaration. "_We could be the first land-dwellers in ten-thousand years to explore these ruins!_" he exclaimed when he finally got his voice back.

Ash looked unimpressed. "You done geeking out yet?"

Gary cleared his throat. "Also, there should be statues of scantily-clad elf women."

"On second thought, let's explore these ruins. For science, of course."

"Yeah, I thought you'd agree…"

"I'm mildly insulted," Starwisp muttered.

The group swam into the coral streets among broken arches and derelict temples. Jessie was very good at finding and destroying the naga warning systems, and the others took down any naga that happened to swim past or detect them. The heroes walked along the algae-covered paving stones – the ones that were still intact; they were the first people to actually _walk_ on those stones since before the sundering.

"Wow," Starwisp whispered.

"Look," Misty pointed to a statue of an elf woman. She brushed mats of green things off the metal plaque – it was still readable, so she called the night elf over to do so, as it was all Darnassian.

Starwisp translated the text with ease. "This monument stands testament to the benevolent leadership of our beloved Matron Lestharia Vashj. For a hundred years, she has ushered the people of her gleaming city, Vashj'ir into an age of endless prosperity. May she and her daughter, the radiant Lady Vashj, continue to light the way of our people in our darkest nights for a hundred years to come."

"I know who Lady Vashj is," Gary said, "but I've never heard of Lestharia." Across the street was another statue, which Ash was staring at. A stunningly beautiful night elf in rather revealing robes, her perfect form was sculpted in marble, or something like marble.

"Let this statue… stand in… testament to our… unending devotion… to our venerable Queen Azshara…" the mage read and translated over Ash's shoulder, stumbling over his words and pausing here and there, filling in words he didn't know by using the context to guess. He was barely fluent in Thalassian, so his Darnassian was clunky at best. "Okay, Ash, you can stop being a pervert now."

The warrior cleared his throat and looked away from the statue calmly. "What are you talking about? I was admiring the craftsmanship and the fact that the statue's in such good condition." This was only partially true.

The sound of combat interrupted them as James fought off a naga. Blood clouded the water – the death knight's, or the naga's? After a brief scuffle, it became clear that some of it was James's blood, as it seeped out of a new gash in his armor. Misty healed him and they quickly moved out of the red cloud. They could breathe water, not blood.

Quel'Delar's Chosen continued down the path, enjoying the sights. Misty was in a particularly good mood. They passed more statues, some of which were broken, and many of them no longer had readable text on their plaques. Finally they came to a pair Starwisp could read. "Let this statue stand as an everlasting testament to High Priestess Siralen in the name of all she has done to nurture Quel'Dormir Temple into a glowing beacon of faith. May her newfound service under Queen Azshara herself shine as a testament to the potential of the noble birth nurtured in our beloved, Vashj'ir." She moved on to the male statue, a very handsome ranger. "In memory of the hallowed hero of Vashj'ir, the High Ranger Valarian. By his life, he granted us beauty and tranquility to the streets of our exquisite city. By his death, he banished our fears and created long lasting peace for our people. May his sacrifice never be forgotten."

"Who are these people?" James asked. Gary shrugged and looked at Starwisp. The rest of the group did the same.

"I haven't any idea!" the night elf admitted. "I've never heard of Valarian or Siralen! Or Lestharia, for that matter!"

They continued down the curving path that circled round the central tower, into a temple. A massive statue once stood guard outside, but all that remained now were a pair of legs on a pedestal. "Holy crap, what happened here?" Jessie muttered, staring all around. There were bones everywhere.

Naga skeletons were no surprise, but there were also humanoid skeletons – gigantic ones. "Vrykul?" James guessed. There were no other explanations. But how did vrykul skeletons get to the bottom of the sea, in an ancient highborne city, along with naga skeletons? Misty picked up a skull nearly twice the size of her own head. There was a shard of metal in it.

"Good lord, I can feel the power in that thing all the way over here!" Gary said. "What _is_ that?" Misty removed the metal shard.

"We should take this back with us. Maybe someone there will be able to tell us more," the paladin said.

XXX

"The remains you describe sound much like the sea vrykul we encountered in Northrend. I highly doubt we will be striking any alliances with their sort, no matter the cause. Still, this information may prove useful in the future. I will think on it further if time permits. Thank you for bringing it to my attention," the admiral said.

Wavespeaker Valoren, the draenei woman, ran over. "Let me have a look at that shard, would you Admiral? I could feel its power radiating from the other side of the cave," she said.

"Of course. It's all yours."

"Thank you." She returned to where she'd been tending to injured soldiers. "Erunak, take a look at this. This looks like a sufficient focus for the vision magics I was speaking to you about. I will prepare the enchantment right away. This may finally shed some light on the means and intentions of the naga." A few minutes later, she returned the shard to Misty. "I had hoped to find a strong focal object like this for a spell I've been working on that would allow us to glimpse into the recent past. I've enchanted the blade, but you'll have to take it to a place where we know its owner was. I want you to travel back to the site where you found it and try to attune yourself to the blade and its wielder. Perhaps we can uncover more behind what the naga are doing here. Or even better, maybe we'll uncover a weakness that will give us a better chance."

XXX

Misty held up the curved blade and put herself into a nearly trance-like state, much as she did when deep in prayer. Slowly, she became aware of the blade's past. As though waking from a dream, or else coming back around after being knocked out, she became aware of her surroundings. The same place, yes, but her friends weren't there. Sounds of conflict rang out around her. It took her a moment to realize she was sharing a naga woman's body, though not in control of it.

The naga man in front of her said "I could hear the sound of your trident breaking from the gardens! The skulls of these Kvaldir are as strong as rock."

"A sssingle prong. Hardly enough to ssstop me from ssslaughtering hundredsss more," Misty – or rather, the naga whose story Misty was experiencing – answered.

The warrior grinned, showing his mawful of sharp teeth. "Indeed. I doubt much would." He chuckled darkly. "There's no shortage of Kvaldir to slaughter. They're obviously still reeling from our assault. The city has been desolate so long, I doubt they expected any naga to contest them here. There have been no reports yet of their leader. I'm sure that culling them further will force the coward to rear his head soon enough. Shall we continue?"

Without a word, she swam off, trident ready. She alone killed dozens of Kvaldir, her thirst for blood never quenched. When there were no more left in the area to slay, she returned to the male – Azjentus. He laughed in delight at the bloodshed. "It seems you were right. That broken trident is serving you just fine. I suppose I don't get to see you claw anything to death today after all," he said with a grin. Then he cleared his throat. "The Revered Lady has sent word for you. She awaits you at the far end of the temple gardens." He paused, and then added, half-jokingly, half-hopefully, "If you feel the need to mention the heroic exploits of your faithful battle brother, Azjentus, please don't hold back. I won't take your admiration of me as a weakness." Again silently, the battlemaiden – that was the naga Misty was in the body of – swam off, this time shooting a coy smile over her shoulder as she left.

The paladin was becoming very in-tune with her naga counterpart, almost like remembering long-forgotten details of her own life, despite the fact that she had never seen any of this. She came to Lady Naz'jar, who looked very different from the naga Misty was familiar with. This purple-scaled snake woman had four arms like all female naga, and a tail, and a humanoid torso and face, yes, but lacked the distinctive fins that most naga had cresting down their backs, and she had snakes for hair, like Medusa. "Lady Vashj isss nothing like her mother… It isss little wonder she left thisss city ssso long ago…" She saw Misty's naga counterpart. "Ah, my battlemaiden, you've come to me. The warrior caste whispers of nothing but your victories on the battlefield, and we've only just begun our assault to take the city. You have served me proud thus far. May the Queen favor you that you might continue to do more of the same. Fathom-Lord Zin'jatar has sent word that the Kvaldir leader has shown himself. I would like you to make your way to him at the far end of the terrace above us, on the middle level of the ruins: Nar'shola Terrace. Kill any Kvaldir that stand in your path on that terrace. We want the echoes of this defeat to ring in their minds so that they will dare not return to threaten our purpose here. Your devotion does not go unnoticed, my battlemaiden. Go knowing that you have my blessing."

Another naga nearby told the battlemaiden to activate some magical devices with her noble blood, something that Misty didn't fully understand, but the battlemaiden did. She swam off, an unstoppable scaly force of destruction, halting her advance only to activate the machines, barely slowing down to destroy the Kvaldir who got in her way, leaving a trail of blood clouds in her wake.

A male naga was waiting for her. Zin'jatar turned to face his new companion. "It is good of you to join me, battlemaiden. The echoes of your combat graced your approach. It was a beautiful sound to behold." Misty suddenly recognized him as the leader of the assault on the shaman cave, the one they'd tracked down and killed. "You are just in time. The Kvaldir leader has shown his rotting, ugly face but a short swim from here, down this hall to our west. We kill him now and the Kvaldir occupation of our once beloved city shall be ended. Beware, battlemaiden, for he is no weakling. He has many Kvaldir at his command. Some Sira'kess Sea Witches have been dispatched to weaken him during your attack, but they will be interrupted if you let any of his Kvaldir attack them. Show no mercy."

The battlemaiden remained silent still – had she not spoken to Azjentus, Misty would have guessed she was mute. The battle was just starting. The sea witches were weakening the massive Kvaldir lord as he fought with a swarm of naga soldiers. Blood clouded the water like fog in a swamp. The battlemaiden hissed and surged forward, trident ready. She did more damage to her foe than any of the soldiers, but it was not enough. The sea vrykul was resilient, landing mighty wounds on the naga, including the battlemaiden. One by one the soldiers fell. More Kvaldir arrived and attacked the witches, disrupting their spells. The male naga backed away to help them while the battlemaiden held the Kvaldir lord at bay. She solidly held her own against a creature that had been fighting a swarm moments earlier, half-blinded by the blood in the water. At his full strength, he was almost immune to her attacks and was actually doing quite a bit of damage. Her scaly skin was seeping blood through myriad cuts.

"Hurry!" She shouted at the others, and said no more. Misty wasn't sure if the naga woman would survive – it was almost like watching a thrilling moving that would have her on the edge of her seat, but she was _living _the experience! She was fully immersed in the battle, to the point where she was internally cheering for the battlemaiden without realizing that if she had survived, she would be a very dangerous enemy that Quel'Delar's Chosen would most likely have to deal with.

The magic beams focused onto the Kvaldir again, one at a time, as the witches turned their attention back to their original target. The surviving soldiers joined in, returning to swarming, though there were far fewer now. Again, they began to fall. The battlemaiden struck the final blow, driving her trident deep into the Kvaldir lord's throat.

Misty's connection to the battlemaiden faded against her will. She wanted to know what happened next! She wanted to know who the battlemaiden was, what had happened to her.

"Misty," Gary's familiar voice rang out. "You there? Hello?" Misty blinked and shook her head, trying to clear it. For a moment, the mage looked like he was considering asking her if she knew who he was, so evidently the paladin looked extremely confused and dazed coming out of her vision.

"How long was I out?" Misty asked, still trying to switch gears into her own body and life.

"Far longer than expected," Valoren said. So Misty had been in her trance long enough for the draenei to find and join her group in waiting. "What did you learn?"

The paladin related the story – at least, the parts she thought were relevant; her own personal immersion in the story of the battlemaiden seemed almost silly in hindsight and was best kept private.

"A Battlemaiden? I never heard of such a thing. The way you explain it, it sounds like the naga forces are far greater in scope than the admiral could possibly have realized. We might be able to learn more through the blade if we can find other locations where this Battlemaiden was present, but the information you gave me makes me fear for the admiral and his soldiers. We must warn them."

"Why? What's going on?"

"The admiral used the information you gathered for him earlier to make a forward post under the terrace to our west. He's been preparing there for some kind of attack against the naga. You should go to him immediately and inform him of the scope of what you've witnessed. Our force is small, and I fear for our soldiers if we charge in too recklessly."

Quel'Delar's Chosen summoned their seahorses immediately. They had to reach the admiral before it was too late!


	33. Deeper Implications

The seahorses stopped in front of a highborne building carved directly into the wall of the massive structure in central Vashj'ir. The gnome, Hexascrub, was outside with some of the soldiers. The windows and doorway of the building were covered by a wall of steam, fog, or clouds. Gary, not sure what to make of the wall of air, shrugged and walked through. Then he saw the totem on the other side. "Oh, clever. Clever shamans." The inside of the building was full of air, though it was hardly dry – in fact, it was quite humid, and warm too. Misty thrived in this climate. Gary did not.

"There you are. We thought we'd lost you," the admiral said.

Misty didn't even greet him. Instead she immediately started rattling off the information she'd gathered from the vision.

"I see. The news you bring is grim, but I was not entirely unprepared for such possibilities. Without any effective scouting of naga numbers, I knew our plan was risky, but that's why we established this forward post."

"We need to turn back!" the paladin protested. "There are too many!"

"I'm afraid we don't have that choice," Admiral Dvorek told her. "Never mind that; it will be explained to you later."

"Isn't there anything we can do?" Ash asked.

"If we do not keep the naga off-balance, they will bring the fight to us. We do not have the structures or the men to mount a defense, so that is not an option. We need more time. Can you thin their numbers to the south?"

"Sure thing," Gary said. "I think _we're_ qualified for killing things." He smirked.

They were about to leave when Captain Taylor called them over. "I overheard your conversation with the admiral. I know what we're doing sounds insane, but we really don't have much choice. There are people back at that cave that are depending on us. I've stationed lookouts on various ledges in the immediate area. They're burning ammo fast on the scattered naga scouts. Can you bring them more crossbow bolts to buy us some extra time?" He pointed to a stack of boxes.

Starwisp took a peek inside one of the boxes. "Oooh. These are some _nice_ bolts!"

"Yes they are," Taylor agreed. He saluted the heroes, who returned the gesture. They were growing quite attached to him.

As they stepped out of the air-filled building and back into the water, Misty sighed and stretched. She loved Vashj'ir, even with the war she was fighting. It was far more relaxing to fight underwater than on land.

"I'm not sure where they're getting these supplies," James said. "I'm not certain I want to know."

Hexascrub, the gnome, bounced over to them, trying to not float away in water currents. "Hello! I've been scrambling, scrambling to prepare for the Admiral's assault. He's got high hopes and high plans to blow all kinds of things sky high! ...or water high? That would do.

Blowing things high takes _explosives!_ I don't have explosives. It's saddening. Very saddening. I've been properly inspired to improvise though, and the solution has become apparent. The bulbs on the seaweed hanging from the ruins contain a surprisingly volatile gas. Maybe you might gather some for me? Pretty Please?"

"Alright, don't see why not," Jessie said. "We need all the help we can get."

"Hey, if we're making things go kaboom, count me in," Gary agreed.

XXX

When the heroes returned and announced the completion of their tasks, Captain Taylor smiled. "You are perhaps the most dependable people I've ever met. If I could only have more men half as thorough as you."

The heroes waited while Hexascrub did his work. Eventually, the makeshift bombs were ready.

"We have everything we need to begin the attack," Dvorek said. "If your claims were correct, you would do well to make sure you cling tight to your mount as we make the attack. Anyone who gets caught in the open water isn't likely to out-swim a naga. Kill as many as you can as we make the attack run and we'll rendezvous on the broken ledge of the terrace above once we've expended our explosives. Hopefully by that point there will be few enough that we can finish them off the old-fashioned way."

Quel'Delar's chosen moved outside and called their seahorses. The soldiers were preparing all around them, mounting seahorses and readying weapons.

Hexascrub held out some explosives to Gary. The mage smirked as he looked down at the gnome. "I don't need bombs to make things explode."

Misty let her vaporeon out. The little pokemon was swift enough in the water to keep up with a seahorse. Tori curled around the paladin's neck.

Pikachu clung to the crude saddle of Ash's seahorse. Its attacks would be useless here, so all it could do was hold on for the ride.

The assault began swiftly. The seahorses charged in loose formations, their riders throwing Hexascrub's bombs at groups of naga or firing crossbow bolts at them. Quel'Delar's Chosen led the charge. Misty occasionally used the bombs she was given, but mostly relied on her holy magic. Vaporeon acted like a small, living torpedo, swimming straight into her targets and blasting them with powerful attacks. Jessie and Gary didn't even need bombs, instead using magic fire to burn their foes. Kai fought in melee with the naga, shredding them with his teeth and claws.

No matter how many they killed, the number of naga never seemed to drop. There were literally hundreds of them, if not thousands. Finally, they simply retreated to where the admiral was waiting.

"You did great up there! You devastated their ranks, but there were far more than we accounted for, and most of our men went down out there in the masses of naga. We'll need to hold this position as long as possible to buy them time. Hopefully some of them will still make it to the rendezvous." Dvorek paused for a moment, then continued. "I need someone to scout their numbers to see how much damage we did. One of the biggest groups of them was around the corner on the northwest portion of this round terrace, and the other was a bit farther to the north in the small tunnel, also on this middle level of the ruins."

"We'll check it out," Ash said.

Captain Taylor added on a new assignment. "Most of our men went down to spears before making it anywhere near the rendezvous. We're only going to be able to hold this position for so long before the naga overrun us. While you're out there, save as many of the men as you can find – do anything you can. They won't last long. Please hurry!"

The battle continued, though clearly it was on the decline. The heroes rode back into the fray, trying not to draw much attention.

"They're already back in formation?" Jessie exclaimed.

"It's like we haven't even put a dent in dere numbers…" Meowth muttered.

Misty veered away from the group to rescue a fallen soldier. She healed him and pointed him toward the rendezvous point. A naga soldier spotted her and there was a furious clash as he tried to impale the paladin with a trident. She reacted quickly, blocking the attack and retaliating with a holy shock. Starwisp backed her up with several arrows, and vaporeon landed the killing blow, tearing the naga's throat out.

The scouting continued. Kai suddenly stopped. "Look there! They're summoning reinforcements. By Alexstrasza's wings, I've never seen so many of anything before! The whole damn race must be taking part in this invasion."

"We should head back – this is all we need to know," James said.

"There are still more soldiers to be rescued," Starwisp told him.

Ash's pokemon tried to call the heroes' attention to a nearby building. "Pika!" It swam toward the building. Naturally, the others followed. A night elf woman was cowering inside, badly injured.

Misty healed her, and they were about to leave when Gary suddenly said, "My god! This is the archivum!"

"What?" Ash asked.

"So many ancient Highborne secrets, just here for the taking! Spells long lost to time, power unimaginable…!"

There was a loud explosion and the building shook, and part of it collapsed. A wayward bomb had hit the archivum and it took out some key supports. The building could cave in any moment!

"We have to leave!" Misty snapped. "Let's go!"

"And leave all this behind?" Gary laughed. "No way! Imagine what lies hidden here! I just hope it's in readable condition after so long under the water – with a little magic, it should be okay."

The sound of stone scraping against stone as the building shifted caused Ash to shudder. "Now is not the time for this! The building's going to collapse! _Let's get out of here!_"

Gary didn't listen. Instead he struggled with the barnacle and coral-encrusted door. It was stuck for obvious reasons. He began charging up a pyroblast to force his way through.

Misty swam over and grabbed his arm. She pulled him away. "Gary, let it go!"

He fought against her. "No! I'm not going to leave without-"

"You must resist the arcane corruption; it's clouding your mind!" James scolded. "Can't you see? You know so much about history and yet you can't see the path you're going down. How many sorcerers have been done in by their own lust for power?"

"These are valuable artifacts!" Gary snapped. Another chunk of stone fell down, nearly blocking the exit.

"These are_ lost_ legends for a reason – look where they got the Highborne!" Starwisp added. "Have you learned nothing? This city is underwater because of the same folly you are so keen to commit now!"

"The secrets of the Highborne are not yours to take, Gary!" Misty shouted.

He stopped struggling. "You… you're right…" Starwisp's point was so obvious. How could he not have seen? Vashj'ir sunk during the great sundering – caused directly by Highborne magic use. Why in the world did he think it was a good idea to go unlocking those very same secrets that sealed their fate in the first place? Perhaps it was true, what they said about mages: one always had to be careful not to let their magic get the better of them, because it _was_ corruptive, always pushing them to look for more power. He suddenly felt suspiciously like a drug addict seeking ever more potent drugs. He'd have to pay closer attention in the future – this was something he would have to actively resist.

"_Let's go, damn it!_" Jessie insisted, already leaving. The others followed.

XXX

"Still so many? They must want something very important here to come in such numbers. I will be honest with you, friends, because you deserve at least that: I don't know how much hope there is. We will retreat shortly, but we won't be able to defend ourselves when they strike back. We don't have anywhere to run... we're running out of options. I'm sorry, I should keep such thoughts to myself. Do me a favor and don't mention any of that to the men. I'll figure something out."

"Don't worry, Admiral," Ash said. It was a stupid thing to say, but it was a natural response. "We'll pull through… somehow…"

Valoren pulled Misty aside. "Look, I know this is asking a lot during a time like this, but I need you to tear yourself away from this defeat for a moment. I will tend to these soldiers – you need to find the location of that battle with the Kvaldir General to the west that you told me about. You should be able to glimpse more of the Battlemaiden's experiences from there. I have a strong feeling that the key to defeating these naga will lie with that Battlemaiden. Please hurry – I will do everything I can to buy you time."

"Now, really?" Misty asked. "You're the shaman, so I guess I'll trust you on this… I just don't know if this will even help. I really hope this turns out to be worth it." The paladin took the broken trident prong and motioned for her friends to follow.

The seahorses swam through the ruined city, as Misty used her attunement with the broken weapon to locate the place of the battle. "Here." She dismounted and allowed herself to sink to the stone platform. Then, she allowed herself to enter the vision.

At first she was nervous and stressed. This was no time for the vision! How could this help? Lady Naz'jar called her attention. "The Kvaldir have been purged from the city. Now we can begin our preparationsss. Battlemaiden, I have a tasssk that requiresss your attention." There was a pause. _Come on,_ Misty thought, _hurry up!_ "Lady Sira'kess has begun preparationsss for the ritual of summoning, but the Crucible of Nazsharin has been ssstolen from us. The Kvaldir have surely taken it with them as they retreated to shallower waters. Speak to the caste leadersss to secure a war party, and then lead them in retrieving the artifact from Biel'aran Ridge to the east. I trust you, my battlemaiden, for you have never failed in any tasssk that I have given you. As I am revered to the Queen, so are you revered to me. Go, with my blessingsss."

The battlemaiden nodded and swam down the giant tunnel to find Zin'jatar. "The city has been routed. The Azsh'ir cry your name as a victory call. You've earned much respect this day."

The battlemaiden acknowledged his praise with a nod. "I am to hunt the Crucible of Nazsharin. Do you have warriorsss to assist me?"

"You will have some of my best men, do not worry, battlemaiden. Return to us quickly – I am eager to begin hunting the Tidehunter."

This was a very jarring statement to Misty. Things had suddenly gotten much worse. The naga were going to attack Neptulon. The paladin was paying full attention to the vision.

Idra'kess was not far away. The battlemaiden swam to him next.

"I'd not expected the city to be taken so quickly. It seems we'll have much time to prepare for the invasion." The battlemaiden repeated her question. "You shall have your reinforcements, Battlemaiden. I had already intended to collect Kvaldir to labor in Nespirah, so your timing is opportune."

Now the battlemaiden swam to the broken bridge. "The summoning incantations have been prepared, but we were depending on the Crucible of Nazsharin to draw power for our spell. The artifact must be recovered," Sira'kess said. The battlemaiden nodded and asked her question. "I will send some of my priestesses to aid you. Find the artifact quickly so that I can begin summoning our allies for the battles to come."

The naga swam over the broken bridge, to the other side, where Azjentus was waiting for her. "Reinforcements have begun to circle the waters around the ledge, preparing for the attack. They await only your lead." He flashed a toothy smile. "I know that you, like our revered lady, have unfortunate streaks of mercy that you succumb to at times. I would advise against such kindnesses this day. The Kvaldir are proud, and they will strike back if we do not cripple them completely. Kill all that you find. Sadly, I have the inglorious task of making sure none return to the city, so you can go have all of the fun. I will cheer you on though, of course."

The battlemaiden wasted no time. She immediately headed for the southern ruins, tearing any Kvaldir she found apart. Again, Misty was fully immersed in the vision. The battlemaiden slipped between corals and columns with ease, masterfully fending off any attackers. At last, she found the artifact.

She returned to the ridge Azjentus was waiting on. He had his chin resting on the handle of his trident, the tips of which were dug into the ground. "Not one slipped through to the bridge. Not one," he said. "It was very boring. I'd appreciate it if you shared a little next time."

"I have found it. Ready your soldiers for transporting it."

Naz'jar nodded in approval. "Well done, my battlemaiden. This crucible will serve as a font of power for our sssummoning ritual. With it, Sira'kess will beckon our allies from the depthsss to bolster our already swelling forcesss. With every day, more warriors arrive at Azshara's command. Soon, Neptulon the Tidehunter will hear of our preparations, but too late to stop what we have set in motion. Our numbers will be too great and our allies too powerful. Victory is only a matter of time. In Azshara's name."

The transition back to the real world was slightly jarring. Misty blinked and looked around.

"Thank the waves, you're back!" the shaman sighed in relief. "The others have already retreated. What did you learn?"

Misty suddenly remembered the urgency of the situation. "The naga are trying to attack Neptulon. These armies are meant to fight him, not us. We just happen to be in the way. They have an artifact that they're using in some sort of summoning ritual, and they spoke of 'allies from the depths'."

"An artifact? Could this be something we can use against the naga? I suppose that would require finding it. We may have to attend to more pressing matters first, until an opportunity to pursue this further presents itself."

"So they're going to attack the elemental plane of water, and try to overthrow Neptulon?" Gary sighed. "This whole thing just keeps getting worse and worse…"


	34. The Prince

Dragonite suddenly let out a squeal and leapt off the couch. What she had heard instinctively drew her to the source of the noise.

"What is it?" Lance asked of his pokemon, now fully alert. He followed her. This time, he heard the cracking sound. The Champion rushed to the incubator and called out to the other members of the Elite Four.

Prima was the first to get into the room, followed by Bruno. Fleezlebop ran in like a bomb was ticking behind her. Agatha came hobbling in as fast as her walking stick could carry her, just as a chip of egg fell down and bounced lightly off the pillow Lance had placed the egg on. The whelp inside snorted egg fluid out of its nose as the Champion helped pull away the shell.

The hatchling gave one final push and cracked the rest of the shell open. Egg fluid dripped down onto the floor and the newborn shook himself more or less dry. Then he looked up at Lance with eyes the color of rubies. For a long moment, nobody moved, as the Dragon Master and the blackwhelp stared into each other's eyes. Having come to a wordless understanding, Lance smiled at the whelp.

"Let's get you cleaned up," he said, picking up the dragonling. "Fleezlebop, let them know he's hatched."

XXX

The heroes halted their seahorses outside the forward base. Misty quickly swam over to the injured soldier lying on the stone in front of the building and set about healing him.

"You're too late. They attacked the base while you were gone… The admiral didn't make it… The survivors retreated to the cave…"

"We should probably do the same, then," Starwisp said. "Come with us. There's room on my seahorse."

The soldier thanked her and climbed on. The heroes pulled the seaweed reins and guided their steeds back to the cave. Much to their delight, Captain Taylor had managed to live through it all.

"You're alive!" He sounded genuinely shocked to see them. "After that attack, I thought we were the only ones left…"

"It takes more than that to kill us," James said.

Suddenly the communicator let out a great deal of static. "_You there?_" the goblin's voice called out.

"You've had a communications device this whole time and_ never used it?_" the captain cried out in shock.

"The other end is on another planet currently and she wouldn't be able to get us any help anyway," Gary replied, unclipping the – thankfully waterproof – device from his belt. He pressed the red button. "Yeah, we're here. What's the problem?"

"_It's hatched! The whelp is healthy and strong._"

"That's great news, Fleezle! First good news I've heard in days, actually. You can't get in contact with Brock can you?"

There was a long pause. "_No? Why?_"

"I didn't think so. Well, we've kinda gotten stuck…in Vashj'ir. The naga are interfering with the plan – trying to attack the Plane of Water."

"_I'll let Rex and Wendy know. I'm sure the rest of your world is anxious for news from Azeroth._"

"Good luck, I guess."

"_If anyone needs the luck, it's you guys. Rocketspeed!_"

"Thanks." Gary clipped the little machine to his belt again and sighed.

"No resting yet," Misty said. She looked exhausted, like everyone else. "The clock's ticking and there's still a lot to be done."

"If you're looking to make yourselves useful," the captain said, "I've another job for you. Jorlan and Hexascrub left to find a way to contact help. The trade lanes aren't far, so there might be a chance of success… We have to try. No matter how small the chance is… we don't have any other options. We're not likely to last much longer here. The naga will find us eventually, and... well... you saw how many of them there were. You should go find the two of them on Biel'aran Ridge to the southeast. I'll keep everyone here safe as long as I can."

"Biel'aran Ridge… that's where the artifact was," Misty muttered. Valoren nodded at her and started to explain the vision the paladin described. Quel'Delar's Chosen had other things to do.

XXX

"Impeccable timing," the gnome greeted them. "Like clockwork! Trouble comes. You come. Save the day. Clockwork! We've devised our brilliant plan. Gloriously simple, barring the hostility of local life. Simpler yet with you available!"

"What do you need?" Ash asked.

"We must always come prepared. Prepared with gear. Prepared with plans. Prepared with gear plans! All of the ships in all of the Alliance fleets stow a survival kit. A lot of our tools came from a survival kit. My balloon came from a survival kit too! But now it's gone. I need another survival kit! There's a ship to the southeastish. Let's hope that the survivors were dumb and didn't take the survival kit. More survival kits for us! But… Survival kits never have any rope. It makes no sense! No sense at all. I bet those Kvaldir have rope. They're always riding around in boats, tying knots, dressing in nets. Go take some rope from them! I must have it for our plan to work. Absolutely must."

"Hey, Twerpette; I thought you said the naga drove the Keevaliwhatsits out," Jessie said.

"They… did…" Misty looked confused. "How did… Nevermind. It's not important." She sent her pokemon to search for the survival kit while she and her friends looked for rope. Tori decided to go with vaporeon.

The paladin found that fighting the Kvaldir was much harder than the battlemaiden made it look, but the fighting was brief – Quel'Delar's Chosen got what they wanted and left.

"This is disgusting!" Ash said, gingerly holding the coils of oily rope.

Meanwhile, vaporeon and Toristrasza found a wrecked ship. They looked for an entrance – repeatedly they got into the ship, but were blocked by closed doors, sand, and dead ends. No survival kits to be found. Tori found a broken window and pulled at the glass with her claws, beating her wings as powerfully as she could – they'd grown much larger and stronger since she hatched. The remaining glass shattered and the two creatures entered. This was the room they needed! The survival kit lay untouched on a desk. Vaporeon picked it up with her teeth and carried it back out to her master.

The gnome took the ropes from the warrior. "This is great! I love it. It should work per- ewww! Is this stuff braided with hair? …Doesn't matter. Almost done." The pokemon arrived with the box held proudly in her teeth. Hexascrub took that too. "Let me see, let me see… flare gun… balloon… perfect. This thing will be done in the twist of a rope!"

He sat down on the spot and put something together.

"All done! I'm confident it will work. Go to the top with the balloon, take the flare gun, and scan the horizon for Alliance ships. If you see any, fire the flare towards them. That's it! All there is to it. Swim. Float. Flare. Rescue! That last part's my favorite."

Jorlan, the human, went with them to the surface. "The _sky!_" Kai said. "I haven't seen that in forever!"

"More importantly, _boats!_" Meowth said. He pointed. Alliance ships, no doubt.

"You guys get to do the honors. We wouldn't be alive if it weren't for the lot of you."

Starwisp took the flare gun and aimed. "I never liked guns," she muttered. Then she pulled the trigger. The flare soared overhead.

"Now there's a sight for sore eyes!" Gary said.

"They'll probably send a skiff over, which may take a bit. I'll stay here to make contact. You need to return to the cave immediately and let them know that rescue is on its way. We can only hope that the naga have not found them yet," Jorlan told the heroes.

They summoned their seahorses and off they went, once more.

As soon as his head broke the surface of the water in the cave, Ash shouted "_Rescue's comin'!_" That was all he needed to say. The soldiers broke into cheers!

"That is the best news I've heard in what seems like an eternity. We'll get the survivors moving over there to the surface as soon as possible. Perhaps we can forget that this whole nightmare ever happened. Thank you, friends. I'm not sure there's anything I can do to repay you for everything you've managed to accomplish in this ocean, but I will try to find a way. We'll be waiting on the ships. Go say your goodbyes to the naga or whatever you adventurer types need to do out here." Captain Taylor gave a deep bow.

Valoren cleared her throat and beckoned Misty over. "What you told me of the naga before has been plaguing my mind. Who are these allies they're summoning? Do they really think they can defeat the Tidehunter? Escaping this cave brings a degree of relief, but our purpose here remains. I'm hoping you will be willing to seek answers from the Battlemaiden one last time. There's only one place that I can think of where they would have taken the artifact – the temple atop the ruins. It's sure to be well guarded. Proceed carefully."

"Again?" the paladin asked. "Now?"

"What's the matter?" the mage inquired from across the cave.

"Valoren… wants me to see if I can get one last vision in."

"Oh, for the love of all things holy…"

"We have to wait for the skiff anyway," James pointed out.

"Oh, alright…" Misty sighed.

XXX

The temple was in poor shape, but still very recognizable. "It looks almost exactly like the Temple of the Moon," Starwisp muttered. Indeed, Darnassus had many highborne-styled buildings, despite being relatively new, built only after the Third War. "Is this where we got the inspiration?" Upon entering, though, the difference was stark. Though a moonwell basin was clearly carved out in the stone, no statue of Elune graced it. No tree roots or stumps hinted at the presence of a magical indoor forest. No soil alluded to the presence of grass and flowers in the building's heyday.

Misty found a place to enter one more trance. Now she would conclude the battlemaiden's story, to the best of her ability.

"The Kvaldir have returned to retake the city from usss. Battlemaiden, they will need you outside," Sira'kess said. "I need Fathom-Caller Azrajar and my Tide Priestesses to return so that we can begin the ritual. Can you carry my will to them as sssuch? You should find them spread upon the temple terrace. Azrajar will be at the ssstairs to the north."

The battlemaiden readied her trident and swam out of the sunken temple. Naz'jar caught her attention as she was on the way out. "Battlemaiden! Find my Honor Guard upon the field of battle and relieve them of their foes. I need them to return to guard the priestesses immediately! I will hold the entrance. Be swift!"

Misty was surprised by the number of Kvaldir that clashed with the naga on the terrace, but the battlemaiden was not. She sliced her way through all who stood in her path, freeing other naga to return to the temple. She worked her way straight north, to Azrajar.

He accompanied her back to the temple, where the ritual began at once. Unsurprisingly, the Kvaldir invaded at the first opportunity. They swarmed into the temple, and the naga warriors held them off as best they could. The battlemaiden charged with a hiss, singlehandedly killing more than the rest of the defenders combined. She then left the temple and tried to prevent any more from getting in. Even she had her limits, though. Some slipped through, then more, and more. She was forced to retreat into the temple, but the rate of Kvaldir entering the temple had slowed dramatically. The priestesses were vulnerable, and it was all the other naga could do to simply protect them and let the Kvaldir swarm around them. The battlemaiden would not have this; she was like a frenzied animal. She would clear the temple of invaders! Only a handful remained when she was interrupted.

Azjentus swam into the temple as quickly as he could. "Kvaldir are pouring across the bridge! Battlemaiden, Lady Naz'jar calls for you!"

"Azjentus is to be taken at his word. Lady Naz'jar's Honor Guard should be sufficient to see the rest of the ritual through. Go swiftly, battlemaiden!" Sira'kess said.

The battlemaiden hissed and followed the male. The battle raged at the bridge. Kvaldir clashed with relatively few naga soldiers and sorceresses. In fact, it looked like the naga were losing, until the battlemaiden arrived to turn the tide. She announced her presence by diving into combat, ripping her enemies to shreds.

It was not so much about holding the bridge – underwater this would be pointless – as about engaging the enemy in combat _over_ the bridge long enough for the naga's allies to arrive. The battlemaiden knew this, and did her best to keep everyone occupied.

Fathom-Lord Zin'jatar yelled "Slaughter them all! Show no mercy, brothers!"

The leader of the Kvaldir had his own answer to this. "You should have left this city to the waves."

"About as tough as seaweed too," Azjentus taunted, easily tearing a foe apart.

The battlemaiden was as swift as an arrow. She darted about, slaying anything that dared to attack her.

"Stand fast! The ritual is almost complete," Naz'jar called out, trying to encourage her allies.

"Your race is a disease upon the sea!" the Kvaldir shouted.

The fighting continued, but the Kvaldir were weakening. "Push them back! For Azshara's glory!" the battlemaiden yelled. The enemy was forced to swim over the break in the bridge – over the chasm.

It was then that the naga's promised "allies" arrived from the depths. Faceless ones. They massacred the Kvaldir with ease. The creature that had sunk the ship Quel'Delar's Chosen had arrived on swam by – a massive, octopus like creature: Ozumat.

Lady Naz'jar led the cheering. "We are victorious. In Azshara's name! My battlemaiden, once again you have earned my respect, and the respect of all our people. You have surpassed your title. You are a battlemaiden no longer. Take your new crown, Nar'jira, Champion of Azshara. With the summoning complete and the armies of Azshara gathering for war, Neptulon the Tidehunter will soon fall. All the oceans shall be ours, and then we shall look beyond!"

Misty was practically shocked out of her vision. "Oh my god…"

"What is it?" Gary asked.

"The naga's allies… the faceless ones, and the monster that sunk our ship."

Valoren looked troubled. "Minions of the Old God? Two very potent foes have joined forces then. Their hope to defeat the Tidehunter may not be so foolish after all. We can't let that happen. If Azshara defeats the Tidehunter and takes his power for herself, I'm not sure any number of us could ever hope to oppose her on the seas. The first step is clear at least - we need to hunt down the fiend that destroyed our ships. The navy was confident enough to bring in a new fleet, perhaps they have a plan."

"I don't know if they can handle this!"

"We haven't got a choice. Anyway, Captain Taylor and many of the other survivors have already made their way to the surface. I'm sure some are just looking to rid themselves of this place for good, but we still have work to do if we're going to stop the naga from invading the Plane of Water. First, we need to set eyes on the tentacled fiend that destroyed our ships when we first arrived – we don't want a repeat of that nightmare."

"Let's get out of here," Ash said.

For the last time, the heroes summoned their seahorses and off they went, following Valoren to the surface and heading toward the silhouettes of ships. She popped up near the ships. "_Hey! Over here!_"

"Valoren! Throw the ladders down, men!" Taylor ordered.

The ladders splashed down at the side of the ship. Misty stroked her seahorse lovingly and kissed its snout before removing its reins like the others were doing to their aquatic steeds. "You're free to go now. Thanks for everything."

Then, Quel'Delar's Chosen climbed the rope ladders and collapsed on the deck of the ship.

"Oh thank god!" the mage exclaimed.

"I can't wait to get back on dry land," Ash agreed.

"It's good to see you made it out of there," Captain Taylor said. "As good as it is to be out of the water for a bit, and to have some resources at our disposal again, we're not done. I'm sure many of the boys – and you – would give anything to turn around and head home after what we've been through, but we still have a grim task ahead. Well, what about you? Want to stick it through to the end with us? I wouldn't blame you if you've had your fill."

"I'm sorry," Gary said. "As much as I'd love to stay and help, we're needed even more elsewhere. This whole thing has set us back irrecoverably far. We were meant to be in Deepholm helping the shamans days, possibly even _weeks_ ago. How long has it been? We have a friend who's probably worried sick about us, too."

"I understand. You're adventurers. Heroes. Your work is never done." Captain Taylor saluted them with deep respect, then bowed. "It was an honor to work with you. You've saved my life, and the lives of many of my men. We're in your debt. Good luck in Deepholm. If you perform there as you did here, that'll be a whole front of the war potentially closed off. For the Alliance!"

The young heroes saluted and repeated the last line. "It's been great to work with you too, Captain. We won't forget you," Ash said.

Not long after, a high-tech gnomish submarine arrived. The soldiers poured in. Captain Taylor gave one last salute to Quel'Delar's Chosen and climbed on board. They would try to deal with Ozumat. The ship they'd been on could now sail back to Stormwind, carrying the young heroes back to dry land. In the meantime, they could rest and eat below deck in comparative luxury.


	35. A Theory Supported

The heroes couldn't afford to spend a night in the inn at Stormwind. Instead, they simply stocked up on anything they thought they'd need and regrouped at the lake northeast of the city. Jessie admired her new weapon – she was sick of being caught defenseless and had remembered this time to pick up a dagger.

"Alright, the shamans have their portal base over on that island," Gary said. "Let's just swim over and-"

"I have a better idea," James said. "Link hands." He took Jessie's hand and stepped out to the lake. As his foot came down on the mirror-like surface, the water under his boot froze solid. Though the ice should have sunk under the death knight's weight, the magic that froze it also kept it from going anywhere. James casually walked across the surface of the lake, Jessie following with a look of confused awe on her face. Meowth jumped onto her shoulder and Starwisp took her other hand. The rest of the heroes joined hands after them and as long as they were somehow connected to James, his death knight magic extended to them. Their icy footprints floated behind them and began to melt. "Being a death knight does have its perks."

"I'm walking on water," Gary said. "I'm even more awesome than I thought!" Misty laughed.

A broken one was waiting for them. "Oh, thank the spirits you're here. We're not sure how much longer we can maintain the rift in the Maelstrom. Our most powerful members, led by Thrall, are barely preventing the tear. Last I heard, our only hope was to go through the breach and attempt to stabilize it from the other side. I will conjure a portal. Take it and report to Thrall as soon as you can."

"A tear?" Misty asked.

"It's more dire than I realized, then," Gary muttered. "I didn't know it was threatening to get _worse_…"

"Wait a minute," Ash said. "If Deepholm is connected to Kanto as well as Azeroth, and it has the capacity to tear this world apart…"

"Then it might rip ours to pieces as well," Jessie finished his statement.

"The portals were just the start," Misty agreed. The portal flickered open.

"Quickly, through the portal," the night elf urged.

On the other side, the Maelstrom raged. Peering down over the edge of the black rocks jutting up into the sky, the heroes were splashed and soaked with cold sea foam. The churning waves spun around the eye of the vortex, from which red light glowed ominously. Something that looked like a mix of red lightning and fire wavered above the whirlpool. Thrall was straining at the edge of the cliff, channeling the elements.

"I knew you'd heed our call, heroes. When Deathwing was first defeated by the other dragon aspects, he retreated to Deepholm, the realm of earth. Deathwing's return to our world left a rift open between Azeroth and Deepholm. If we don't mend the breach, this land will be torn asunder."

"Not just this land," James said. "Our world is in peril too."

Thrall grunted in acknowledgement but continued without answer. "We're doing our best to contain the damage on this side of the rift. Aggra will take you through the rift so you can help repair the damage from the other side. She will lead the wyverns through when you're ready."

Quel'Delar's Chosen climbed onto the Wyverns – except Gary, who instead rode on Kai's back.

Aggra's mount took flight and circled. It took the wyverns and the drake a moment to adjust to the howling winds. "I hope you have strong stomachs. Travelling through the breach is not for the faint of heart. The Maelstrom has been here for as long as anyone can remember, but now it is even more dangerous – this is the rift between Azeroth and Deepholm. Let us just hope that Thrall and the others can contain it long enough for us to mend it. Prepare yourselves!"

The wyverns and the dragon circled, spiraling closer and closer to the center; they dove! Pulling their wings tight against their bodies as their riders leaned into the furry manes and scaly neck, the fliers dropped into the blazing red light.

Aggra was right. It was not for those with a weak stomach. Their guts felt like they were being yanked out of their bodies and put in a washing machine's spin cycle. Their blood rushed to their heads and pounded. Upon entering Deepholm, the wyverns and Kai teetered as they adjusted. Jessie nearly passed out, swaying back and forth, barely staying on her mount, on the brink of unconsciousness – to fall off the wyvern now would surely kill her, and she knew it. Gary looked and felt like he was going to be sick. Ash gagged but managed to recover.

"Looks like we all made it," Aggra shouted. "Good!" She led the heroes down around a massive stone spike with brilliant, glowing, shining orange crystals the size of cars jutting out the top. Bits of similar crystal floated nearby. "This is the Temple of Earth. It's the most important structure in Deepholm. There was once a Titan-made stone inside. It was known as the World Pillar. The name was literal; it bore the weight of all the elemental and magnetic forces in Deepholm. It was shattered when Deathwing broke through the dome above and created the rift between the two worlds. _All __of __Deepholm __is __going __to __collapse __into __Azeroth __if __we __don__'__t __put __the __World __Pillar __back __together!_"

"I thought Deepholm was below Azeroth?" Ash said.

Gary replied "It's an entirely different plane, Ash. The Deepholm's plane is under Azeroth's plane. That doesn't mean Deepholm itself is below Azeroth. To get from Azeroth to Deepholm, we have to travel through dimensions not normally accessible. We simply say it's underneath because we had to assign some form of direction." The mage paused for a minute to come up with a metaphor the warrior would understand, since Ash clearly wouldn't get the magical jargon that he was so familiar with. "Think of it like multiple save states on a video game. You can't get from one to another without exiting to the main menu. Once in the menu, you can scroll down the list of saves – saved game A may be below saved game B on the list, but that doesn't mean that travelling downward _in_ game B will get you to game A."

Ash tried to wrap his mind around physical worlds working like this. "My head hurts."

Aggra looked irritated by this chatter. She cleared her throat and continued. "The first fragment of the World Pillar was going to be delivered by a Horde airship called the Storm's Fury. It never made it here. We've taken control of the temple and we're containing as much of the damage as we can. Go inside and speak to Maruut. He's in charge."

The temple was elegantly carved out of the spire of black rock. It looked somewhat like Wyrmrest in Dragonblight – the same style of pillars, the same gold decorations. Titan architechture. Some of the pillars appeared to be carved from solid jade. Blue crystals sprouted from the stone and lit the area with their glow. Above the temple, Deepholm's walls rose up, up and over. The area must have once been a massive cave. Now the top of the cave was shattered, and an indigo sky with scattered stars and galaxies was visible above it. Purple clouds of what appeared to be arcane residue drifted in the sky.

The heroes entered the temple. "Brock!" Misty called the shaman's attention. He spun around to look at them, let out a great sigh of relief and ran over. He pulled Ash and Misty close in a tight hug.

"Good god, I was so worried – I thought you'd been killed! Where have you been?" After a moment's pause, he added "Come on, let's get you all to a fire. You're soaked!"

"Not that we're not used to it," Gary said. "We've been underwater for days. It's the cold we're not used to. At least Vashj'ir was tropical."

"Vashj'ir?" the shaman asked, leading the heroes into a chamber of amber-colored crystals. A fire was burning on something that looked like coals, so Quel'Delar's Chosen gathred around it to dry off and warm up.

"We kinda had to go on a little detour when we got back to Azeroth," Ash said.

"It involved going on a boat. The boat sank," Kai explained bluntly.

"The boat- _What?_" Brock seemed fairly shocked.

"The ship sank," Misty repeated. "We ended up in the sunken elf city of Vashj'ir, and there were naga – aquatic snake people."

"Corrupted elves," Starwisp added.

"And we had to do some waterbreathing magic," Jessie said.

"So we ended up trying to help all the Alliance soldiers who went down with us," said James. "Then we found out that the naga were trying to convert the demigod Nespirah into a war machine, because they plan to attack the Elemental Plane of water…"

Brock sighed. "It's like a hydra… For every head we cut off…"

"Two more grow back," Gary finished wearily. "I know. Also, the naga are in league with minions of the old gods."

"Well, we can't worry about that now," the shaman said. "We have things to do here."

When everyone was warm and dry, Brock introduced them to Maruut, the tauren.

"I'm glad you all made it," the tauren said. "All our resources are tied up keeping the rift stable. Brock has been incredibly helpful, but he hasn't been able to venture far on his own. We need someone like you to help us recover the fragments of the World Pillar."

"We're on it, then. Sorry we took so long," Ash said.

Maruut nodded. "The Archstone was being transported inside a flying Horde gunship called the Storm's Fury. The airship crashed south of here and our scrying has revealed the Archstone is no longer on it. Search the ship for clues related to what might've happened."

Before they left, Brock handed out long coils of rope. "We'll need these. Deepholm is arranged in tiers."Quel'Delar's Chosen summoned their mounts and set out. "Oh, Gary… your theory of connection is pretty much confirmed."

"How do you mean?"

"I've seen pokemon out here. Some are just as we know them, others – like certain types of Azerothean life I've seen here – are earthen variations. Onix, geodude, stone golduck…"

"I wonder what happens with a dual-typed pokemon that gains an elemental type," Misty mused. "Does it just lose one of its original types? Gain a third?"

"That's a good question," Brock said. "I have no idea."

Gary put a hand on his chin, thoughtfully. "It's said that many Azerothean humanoids started out as stone creatures, but were changed by the 'Curse of Flesh'. The presence of pokemon in Deepholm – especially earthen ones not normally of the rock type – suggests that they shared the same origins, being shaped by the titans. Or, the Elemental Planes could simply hold elemental versions of creatures. After all, there are stone dragons, and I'm certain I recall reading that the dragons either evolved from dinosaurs, through proto-dragons, or were shaped from Galakrond… They were never stone creatures."

"Look!" Meowth said. He pointed. The others tried to see what he was pointing about. Behind a spire and some floating rocks were a two pokemon like none the heroes had ever seen: a rapidash made entirely of grey stone, her flames teal in color, and her foal – an earthen ponyta of the same colors and materials. Their eyes and hooves were made of sapphire. They stared at the outsiders in a mixture of fear and curiosity, their gemstone eyes glittering.

"This carries great implications for the origin of your world," Starwisp said.

"I know. Won't Gramps be interested in this! We may have unlocked the origin of both the world and all the pokemon in it!" the mage said. The thrill of discovery never grew old.

"Further, it explains why there are humans in both worlds," Misty said.

"Question is, where did humans come from first? Or were we created or developed independently in both worlds?" Brock wondered aloud.

"I'm fairly certain we have our origins in Azeroth. Some draenei seer determined that humans came from vrykul, so that implies that either there were once vrykul in our world, which seems unlikely, or that humans came from Azeroth. It certainly explains why we're so different from pokemon," Gary said.

"My god, you're right!" Jessie exclaimed. "It makes perfect sense! That's why we can't be caught with pokeballs or evolved or anything else – humans originally came from Azeroth!"

They eventually came to a sheer cliff wall, which they climbed using the ropes that Brock had given them. Resummoning their mounts, they continued. Eventually, they came to the gunship. They were not prepared for what they saw. The ship was _torn __in __half_.

"By all that is holy…" the paladin muttered. There was a dead orc woman nearby – a cannoneer. Her hands were stained with gunpowder. The heroes dismissed their mounts and wandered through the wreckage.

"What's this? Look over here!" Brock called attention to the large metal object. It was an artillery shell, engraved with 'STORMWIND ROYAL INDUSTRIES'.

"Oh, no…" Ash whispered.

Kai took his human form and entered the half of the gunship with the captain's quarters. It was tilted, but he could still climb the stairs if he was careful. He made his way up, followed by Gary and Starwisp. They found the dead captain with his log right in front of him. The dragon picked it up, quickly looked over the last page, and handed it to the mage. "Look at this."

After reading it, he nodded to the others and went back down to ground level to show the rest of his friends. Gary read the captain's log aloud. "We found the captain's log. The captain himself was lying next to it, dead as a doornail. It says _'…__approaching __the __Temple __of __Earth __at __30 __knots __and __commencing __landing __maneuvers __according __to __new __route. __We've __made __note __of __a __low __pressure __system __in __the __north __and __redrawn __our__' _…It cuts off here. They didn't see it coming. They couldn't have."

"Why would the Alliance do this?" Starwisp asked. She was genuinely angry at her own faction, something not often seen in the night elf.

XXX

"The Earthen Ring is a neutral organization," Maruut said. "We cannot pick sides in the war between the Horde and the Alliance. Look around you – our members come from all backgrounds. Our mission would be compromised should racial tensions be put above our goal. Let's try to keep this under wraps until we have more information. We must not jump to conclusions just yet. I'll send you and one of our new members to look for the Alliance gunship. Find out what you can without dragging us into the conflict." The tauren cleared his throat. "Mylra!"

The dwarf woman came over at his call. "Oi!" She was wearing blue shaman's robes and a metal circlet with horns. She had blue tattoos under her eyes and her long red hair was in a braid. "How ken I help ye?"

XXX

The Alliance gunship rocked back and forth, flying aimlessly. It didn't take long for the heroes to find that it was derelict. An obsidian murkrow was the only living thing on board, and that flew away with loud caws as the heroes approached. "Something's wrong here, heroes. The ship's crew has been slain… Yet there is no bloodshed or damage to the ship's structure," Mylra said. Indeed, there were corpses lying around. Apparently the murkrow had been gorging itself on the fallen, for the only blood on the ship was right where it had been perching.

"This was not the Horde's doing," Ash said. "That much is certain."

"We can find the answers we seek by speaking to the spirits of the dead. They have not yet left this world," said Brock.

Mylra nodded. "Good idea. Take this totem and place it near the corpses of the fallen. You will have a few seconds to listen to their last few thoughts"

The totem yielded interesting, if chilling, results. "They've… poisoned us all! Twilight cultists, all along…" were the last thoughts of one soldier. "They tricked us… the Horde wasn't… Why…?" another had thought.

"We were bound to run into the Twilight's Hammer sooner or later, friends. If they're behind this, it's quite likely that the World Pillar fragment is in their possession," Mylra said.

"Oh, of course… Can't anything _ever_ go right?" Gary muttered.


	36. Quicksilver

"They're probably still on the ship," James said. "It'd be wise to go below deck and clear them out."

"Agreed," Starwisp said with a sage nod. "Mylra, you stay here and keep watch."

"A'right," the dwarf replied. "But I want you to bring me a prisoner – find whoever's in charge down there and bring 'im up for questioning."

The heroes went below deck, weapons ready. Gary was careful with his fire magic – the ship was mostly wood, but if he was precise, he wouldn't set the whole structure ablaze. Still, bright flames drew attention to the group. James charged in, swinging his runeblade. His icy magic struck a cultist in the chest and as the woman collapsed he finished her off with his sword. Misty's holy magic contrasted sharply with the shadowbolt her opponent was casting – she beat him to it, killing him before he could get the spell off. Another shadowbolt hit her from the side, but she healed herself through it. Jessie targeted the attacker with her own shadow magic, calling forth the shadowflame-spewing demon face. Starwisp and Meowth stayed on the staircase as Kai and Ash protected them, shooting arrows through cultist throats. Brock threw bolts of lava and lightning. The heroes cleared the whole area, working around the giant opening in the floor meant to drop gigantic bombs through. A few of the cultists met their end when the heroes simply tossed them through that opening and they tumbled to their demise. Usually it was Gary who pushed them over – he wasn't afraid of falling. He could just cast slow fall a couple times and float safely to the ground. The trouble would come if someone else fell through. Even if he did manage to get slow fall on them, the spell would wear out before they hit the ground, and while it might not kill them, the impact would certainly injure them horribly.

The heroes went to the bottom deck and cleared that too. Here the danger of falling was even greater – on the deck above one at least had hope of falling only a few feet onto the stairway leading to the bottommost deck. There was no such safety net here. Despite storming the entirety of the bottom of the ship, there was no sign of the cultists' local leader. Frustrated, Quel'Delar's Chosen returned to the deck above to finish clearing the rest of the cultists out. It was here that they found the leader. How they missed him the first time was beyond any of them.

Misty offered him the chance to spill the beans without any harm coming to him. Pointing her sword at him, she said "Alright ogre, tell us everything you know, and we'll let you go free. Don't make us use force." Mor'norokk would not have it, and charged at her. The heroes beat the two headed fiend senseless; he stood no chance against the eight of them. Finally he fell to his knees with James's runeblade pointed at one of his faces.

"Alright, I give up! I'll tell you everything!" The death knight lowered his sword – big mistake. The two-headed ogre got to his feet with surprising speed and grabbed James by the throat. He jumped onto the thick wooden beam spanning the bomb bay. "Gotcha!" James clutched at his captor's hand and struggled in vain as the ogre dangled him over the open bomb doors. "I hope you can fly, pipsqueak!"

Gary hurried to cast slow fall even though he knew the spell would wear off before James had reached a safe altitude.

"Over here, you ugly whale!" a heavily-accented voice called out. Mylra, riding her gryphon, lassoed the ogre with a rope tied to the bird. Mor'norokk dropped the death knight as he was yanked off the beam. Jessie cried out; the death knight managed to grab onto the beam with both arms. James hauled himself up. The airship listed deeply as it did every now and then, nearly throwing him off again, but he kept his balance and scrambled over to the railing, climbed over, and collapsed, panting, on the deck.

"You! Let me go! Let me go now!" Mor'norokk shouted, struggling. Stormbeak squawked, unhappy with the weight of its cargo. The ogre looked down. "Wait, no, don't let go!"

"Meet me up top! This freak has some questions to answer!" the dwarf woman said.

XXX

The heroes watched as Mylra and Stormbeak dangled Mor'norokk above the whirling helicopter-style blades at the side of the ship.

"Alright, sunshine, time to spill your guts before I spill 'em for ya!" The gryphon moved up and down above the spinning blades.

"You can't do this! You people must have a code of honor or something!" he protested.

"I'm a daughter of the Wildhammer Clan and a shaman of the Earthen Ring. My code compels me to honor my anscestors and the elements!" The bird lowered the ogre again. "It doesn't say a damn thing about dog-ugly ogres!"

"_Stop __it, __you __tiny __angry __woman! __I__'__ll __tell __you __everything! __What __do __you __want __to __know?_"

"You can start by telling us where the World Pillar fragment is. My gryphon's starting to look a wee bit tired from hauling you around."

"It was delivered to the Forgemaster at Deathwing's Fall! I swear," Mor'norokk sobbed, "_that__'__s __all __I __know! _Now pull me up, you vicious little dwarf!"

"Oh, you were never in any danger, sweetheart. My friends below would have caught you. You're too valuable to us alive." Mylra whistled and some air elementals appeared.

The ogre suddenly realized something. "No! Do you have any idea what the Twilight Council will do to me when they find out I've talked? I'd sooner die!" He cast a spell on the elementals and cut the rope, throwing himself into the rotor.

The gryphon flew back to the deck and landed. "Interesting," Mylra said. "I'd never heard of the Twilight Council before now. You must get word back to the others at the temple. Chances are, the fragment is already getting moved to a more secure location. Tell Maruut what you know. I'm going to do a little investigating about this Twilight Council in the meantime."

XXX

"The Twilight's Hammer involvement in the disappearance of the World Pillar fragment makes complete sense. Let us hope that we can act swiftly enough to recover it," the tauren said. He thought for a moment. "Brock, may I see your pendant?" Taking the metal in his hand, he hummed quietly. Then he returned the necklace to its owner. "I should be able to communicate with you across longer distances. Deathwing's Fall is to the southeast. Go there and search for the fragment."

The heroes rode to the area where Deathwing had somehow fallen after his defeat following the Second War. Massive pools of lava (was it lava?) lit the area. "Finally, a source of heat," Gary said. "It's too freaking cold in here." As he approached the warmth of the pools, a blob of something red charged at him. He turned on his heels and ran back to the group. "Gah!"

Misty instinctively attacked the blob. After taking a few hits, it exploded. "What the hell was that?"

Brock held the pendant around his neck and relayed Maruut's words to his friends. "The Twilight's Hammer are wielding foul magic here. They animate and energize the remains of Deathwing's blood, so that instead of drying out and disappearing it thrives and becomes more abundant. Take out one of the bloodshapers, see if they have any clues as to where we can find this 'forgemaster.'"

James grinned. "With blood magic of my own, I could have quite a bit of fun with this."

The adventurers fought their way through the animated blood and easily killed a bloodshaper, taking his orders. There was no mention of the forgemaster, but it did provide the location of the foreman's key.

"Time to free the slaves, then," the paladin said. The heroes entered the tents and began rummaging through them. Kai took his draconic form and simply clawed cabinets and tables apart. A glint of metal caught his eye as he ripped a locked desk to pieces. He bashed the side of the desk in with his tail and pried the shattered wood off with his claws.

The dragon returned to humanoid form and picked up the key. "Found it." He gathered his friends and they set about unlocking the slaves from their shackles in the nearby quarry.

"The forgemaster's a terrible murderer. Are you sure you want to go looking after him?" one slave said.

"The forgemaster is meeting with the Twilight leadership. Trust me, I traded some gossip for a loaf of stale bread!" said another.

Finally, some useful information: "I heard the forgemaster keeps notes about his meetings in a book at the tower overlooking the camp."

The heroes unlocked the rest of the slaves and hurried to the tower. "If we're fast enough," Jessie said, "maybe we can listen in on the meeting."

Kai looked a bit sick when he saw the tower. It was made of the same stuff as the tent, but he hadn't noticed before. "Are those… dragon skins? No, can't be. No dragon is that color. Unless…" He shook his head and decided not to think about it.

Gary killed the sole guard with an ice lance while Ash picked up the forgemaster's log. He flipped to the latest entry. "Silvermarsh. He's at the Silvermarsh. Brock, do you know where that is?"

"Yes, it's a mercury swamp not far from here – very poisonous. Normally it's home only to rock troggs and stone golduck. The cultists must be insane to meet there, but we already knew that much."

"Well, that presents a problem."

"Would your onix be affected by the mercury?" Kai asked.

"Probably not," the shaman said.

"Send it in to eavesdrop," Meowth said. "I'll translate for you."

"How are we going to hide a giant rock snake?" Jessie asked.

"I doubt we'll need to. Rock pokemon seem fairly common here. As long as onix just acts like the local wildlife, it should be fine," Gary replied.

Quel'Delar's Chosen followed Brock's lead as he climbed up a ledge to the area near the mercury swamp, but not too close. The shaman called out his pokemon and explained what it must do. The onix then slithered into the mercury swamp and proceeded to putz around "aimlessly", getting closer to the twilight camp as it did so. Then it just idled near the camp, pretending to go about its own business like any other animal.

"Here she comes, boss!" an ogre bodyguard said.

"_Forgemaster!_ I've been informed the enemy has disrupted your operations. Where is the fragment?" the high priestess demanded, arriving on the scene.

The forgemaster bowed. He was a gnome, blue-haired and dressed in the robes of a mage. "The fragment is now in the dragon's custody, ma'am."

"Well done. Meet me inside the Stonecore for further instructions."

"Of course, ma'am. At once!" the gnome said. He hesitated. "If you don't mind me asking… How did we manage to recover the fragment? How did we infiltrate our enemies' forces without their knowledge?"

High Priestess Azil laughed. "Let's just say we have friends in high places, forgemaster."

Brock's onix idled for a little while after they left, to avoid drawing suspicion. Then it wandered around, slowly making its way back to its owner to relate the story to Meowth for translation.


	37. Words

The dragon in question turned out to be called Abyssion, and Mylra was going to help the heroes hunt him down and kill him. The adventurers met up with her at a Twilight Cult camp that had been taken over by the shamans.

"Having a dragon guard the fragment was a smart move on the enemy's part. They can keep moving its location any time we get close to it. Catching Abyssion will be extremely difficult, but I have a plan that might help. The Twilight's Hammer uses magical traps to bind stone drakes to the ground while they drain their energy. If we can get our hands on one of these, we might be able to ground the Twilight Dragon for just long enough. Go east of here, to the Alabaster Shelf, and obtain a trap."

The heroes let out a collective sigh and did as they were told without protest or commentary. They were all tired, worn down by their adventures. They never had a chance to rest and they were always pushing themselves to the limit. It was beginning to take its toll.

They blinked and shielded their eyes as they reached the cliff edge of the Alabaster Shelf. After so long in the dark cave, the white stone was blinding. Drakes flew overhead, but made of stone. Their bodies were rocky and gray, with teal crystals like those seen all around Deepholm in their bodies and replacing their horns and claws.

"Are they sentient, I wonder?" Kai asked.

"I doubt it," Brock answered. "They seem to be nothing more than dragon-shaped elemental spirits."

"Look," Starwisp said. She pointed to a trapped drake surrounded by cultists. The others nodded silently. Quel'Delar's Chosen made their way down the cliff. Their clash with the cultists was short and uneventful, but they had a harder time with the drake. It fought back, but was so horribly drained and damaged that instead of risking being hurt trying to free it, Brock put it out of its misery by smashing its head with his warhammer. Then he retrieved the trap.

"If it's good enough to catch a drake…" the shaman muttered.

XXX

The heroes led a very noisy assault on the nearby Twilight Cult base, trying to draw the dragon's attention back to his lair. Starwisp set the trap and waited in the shadows. Jessie decided to increase the odds of victory by finding and destroying all backup portals in the base. No reinforcements, and no way of escape.

A piercing roar announced the arrival of the target. Starwisp took aim and shot at Abyssion from her hiding place, drawing him to the trap. The great purple dragon circled, eyeing the heroes angrily, but he did not land. Clearly some additional coaxing was required. Misty got as close to the trap as she could and hit the monster with a holy shock. "Well, you scaly coward, are you going to fight me or not?"

The dragon roared furiously and dove at the paladin. She cowered under a shield of light as the dragon crashed into her, talons-first. The Light protected the girl as the trap closed around the dragon's leg, and she fled. He breathed twilight fire at her.

The others launched their attack. Ash tried to attack the dragon's face, but was blasted with dark fire. The stone beneath the dragon jutted up and pierced its belly and wings. Fire licked across its scales as arrows dug into its hide. Abyssion swung his tail, nearly hitting the death knight. The dragon's eyes gleamed with madness as it lashed out at random people with dark fire and massive talons sharp enough to rend metal armor. Naturally, this sort of attack on an unarmored mage did serious damage, damage that without healing would _certainly_ be lethal within the hour.

"Gary, why the hell are you standing so close to it? You're a ranged fighter and he can't move; get away!" Misty scolded as she healed him.

Brock placed totems that restored mana and backed firepower. Standing in the middle of his circle, he called down a bolt of blue lightning and followed it up with a spike of earth.

Abyssion roared and snapped at the yellow creature darting about at his feet. Sharp teeth sank through the pikachu's flank as though it were soft clay. The electric mouse let out an earsplitting cry of pain, soon echoed by the dragon as a lightning storm exploded in his mouth. The bloodied pokemon dropped limply to the ground as Abyssion thrashed.

Kai took Ash's place in front of the dragon as the warrior retreated to save his pokemon. He didn't stand a chance against Abyssion's attacks and he knew it. The twilight dragon tried to slam its claw down on them, but the black drake tackled it and pushed against its chest with all his might. Abyssion sank his teeth into Kai's neck. The drake let out a strangled yelp. Brock threw a pokeball and his onix came to the rescue. It slammed its stone horn into the dragon's shoulder.

A bolt of green fire struck the dragon's heart. The dragon was weakening as Starwisp's poisoned arrows took their toll. A frostfire bolt punched a hole through his wing membrane. With an angry roar, he turned his head as far as it would go and swept the entire area with twilight fire. Abyssion was putting up a considerable fight. Misty raised her hands into the air and held up an orb of golden light that healed everyone around her. The paladin herself seemed to be glowing with the Light's radiance.

Aeroth clawed at the dragon's eyes while absol and vaporeon tore at its wings and back. James took advantage of the monster's blind thrashing and ran in under its chest. Abyssion stomped randomly and caught James's arm with his claw, ripping it open and shattering bone. Cringing, the death knight managed to thrust his sword into the creature's throat with one hand, and it collapsed on top of him with a sickening crunch. The warlock rushed to pull her companion out from under the scaly corpse as the paladin started casting a healing spell.

Masking his pain very well, James, deadpan as ever, said merely "Ouch."

"God, that thing hit hard!" the mage commented.

"Well, now we know what we're up against," Kai said.

"It'll only get tougher from here," Jessie muttered. She was beginning to doubt they had what it would take to defeat Deathwing and his minions before it was too late.

"Where's the fragment?" Ash suddenly asked.

"Uhh… Good question," Brock replied.

Gary cut through a chain around the dragon's neck and held up the rock attached to it. "Like a pokeball, it shrinks. Clever."

XXX

"Once the Temple's Structure is stable again, the rifts between the worlds will begin to close," Maruut said. "I'm glad you've been such a help."

The heroes did not get to rest. Soon after, a draenei woman asked if they were busy. "My goblin initiate has been gone for quite some time. His name is Goldmine. I sent him out to observe the local rock flayers southwest at the Quartzite Basin. Perhaps you would be willing to find him? When you do, please ask him to come back to the temple."

Gary sighed. "Sure, why not."

It didn't take long to find him. The goblin was standing over what seemed to be a corpse. No, a living being, a stone dwarf. Earthen, they were called. "Hey! Hey, lend a hand here, would ya?" Goldmine shouted.

Misty rushed over and tried to heal the fallen stone dwarf. "Don't bother," Goldmine said. "Healing magic won't work on him. I've tried… But if we were to get some of the quartzite resin off of these monsters, I think I can make an explosive compound that will bond and cauterize his wounds."

"Uh, I don't know if we have time for this," Ash said. "We're kinda busy gathering World Pillar Fragments. We were just sent on a quick errand to get you and bring you back to the temple."

Goldmine looked confused for a moment. "This guy's the _son_ of the Earthen leader! We know that the Earthen Stonefather _has_ the middle fragment of the World Pillar. Maybe if we were to heal his son, the Stonefather would give us the fragment. Get my logic?"

"Time to go hunting then," Starwisp said, already watching the flayers keenly.

"Why are there flayers here? I've never seen them outside of Outland," Kai said. "I thought they were native to Blade's Edge."

"Why are there ponyta here? I thought they were native to Kanto," the paladin replied, as a rhetorical question.

Starwisp let Aeroth step onto her fist and tried to help launch him with a quick thrust of her arm. He stumbled but gripped her glove, barely hanging on. "_Go,_ you stupid bird!" The owl took off. He circled above the flayers, and dove at a flayer, talons extended.

XXX

Goldmine spread the resin over the Earthen's wounds. "If the cauterizing effect of the flash dry explosion doesn't crack him wide open, it should completely heal him. Little spark, here, mage?" A fire blast and an explosion later, the stone dwarf was healed.

Kai offered to carry the dwarf on his back as they returned to the Temple of Earth, where they explained the situation, or rather, Flint took over.

"Earthcaller, my father, Stonefather Oremantle, has been taken prisoner by the stone troggs of Needlerock Spire. I demand that you send aid to Stonehearth. Help us with our war and to free Stonefather Oremantle. The ones that assisted me here should be adequate. Have them report to our force commander, Crag Rockcrusher, at Stonehearth."

The heroes collectively sighed. The draenei looked at them. "They're in no condition to help just yet, Flint. They are exhausted. The war has gone on for ages. It can wait one more day."

"But what if-" the paladin protested.

"You need rest. You all have shadows around your eyes."

Having gotten permission from an outside source, the heroes immediately retired for the night – or what they assumed was night. It was hard to tell in Deepholm. For once, their sleep was mercifully dreamless and restful.

XXX

Kai was awake long before the others. Misty found him lying on the floor in the main chamber, with Toristrasza sitting in front of him. He was patiently repeating strange words to her. "What are you doing, Kai?" the paladin asked.

"Oh, I'm teaching Tori to talk. She's old enough now. Of course, I'm starting with Draconic. That should be her first language. We'll teach her common later, although she does seem to understand some of it."

"Kah," the whelp chirped. She had grown up quite a bit – she was almost too big to sit on Misty's shoulder, and her wings were much bigger now. Though for most of a dragon's life, they aged much more slowly than humans, their infancy and early childhood went by much faster.

"Listen, she can say my name!" the black drake said, enthusiastically. The red whelp said a few words in draconic. The language was unfamiliar to Misty, so she couldn't tell for sure, but Kai's reaction suggested that, like a human baby, the whelp was using infant-talk and mangling pronunciation. He seemed delighted, but slowly repeated a word to help her get it right.

The drake turned to the paladin. "She's hungry." The girl went to get some food the whelp would eat, while the dragon continued trying to teach the whelp to speak.


	38. Dreaming of Things to Come

"Good morning, Gary," the paladin greeted the mage. "How did you sleep?"

"Pretty well, actually. No nightmares for once."

"That's good. Brock made tea, if you want some."

"Where the hell did he get tea in Deepholm?" Gary raised an eyebrow. Misty just shrugged. "Eh, why not." The mage went to get a cup of the rare (for them) luxury. A few moments later, he returned to the central chamber with a cup of hot tea – a welcome treat in the chill of Deepholm. Not everyone was awake yet, and they needed all the sleep they could get, so the few who were up remained quiet for a long time, deep in thought.

Finally, the mage decided to share what was on his mind. "I did have a dream last night…"

"What was it about?" the shaman asked. Nobody had noticed him return from one of the other chamber in the temple.

Gary held up the flame-pendant with its empty gem socket. "These. And the Dragon Soul."

"The Demon Soul, you mean," Misty corrected.

"The what, now?" Brock asked.

"The Dragon Soul – later known as the Demon Soul," Gary repeated. "An artifact created by Deathwing around the time of the War of the Ancients, ten thousand years ago. Just before his corruption, or maybe during. He convinced the other Aspects to imbue it with their essence. Then he turned against them while fighting the demons… he killed his own allies along with his enemies."

"Wasn't it the Demon Soul that tore his body apart so he had to be plated together?" Misty asked.

"Yeah."

"I thought so."

"Hm," was Brock's only reply. After a moment, he asked the mage to continue describing his dream.

"In the dream, the Aspects were wearing these necklaces. Deathwing – no, Neltharion; he was uncorrupted – wore the Dragon Soul. But in the dream, they had gems in them. And not just any gems – evolution stones. And then…" The mage looked frustrated. "Then…" He shut his eyes, trying to remember. The memory of the dream was becoming unclear. "… I… I don't remember. Something about all five of the necklaces, and… Deathwing… and the Maelstrom. That's all I remember."

"Dreams often fade soon after waking," the shaman said sagely.

Gary sighed. "But mine are usually important. Forgetting them…" He trailed off.

Ash soon joined them, bleary-eyed and still half-asleep. He yawned and asked what time it was.

"I haven't the foggiest idea," Gary muttered, paused just above his tea, not really caring if the others could hear him. "No sun, no stars, no moon…" Having finished his comment, he went back to the drink – one of only two sources of significant warmth for him in the ungodly cold caverns.

"I hate this place," the warrior responded.

"Oh, come on, it's not that bad," Brock said.

"Nothing but rocks forever in every direction, damnably cold, everything trying to kill us, and not even the _sky_ for comfort. Yes, it _is_ that bad," the mage disagreed. "I'm with Ash on this one: I hate this god-forsaken place."

Misty joined in the complaining. "At least in Icecrown we could tell what time of day it was! Here we haven't even got that! I just want to get out of here. I mean, it just says something about this stupid place that even the lakes and rivers here are toxic – they're made of mercury! _Mercury,_ for heaven's sake!"

"I want to go back to Vashj'ir," Gary said.

"_I_ want to go _home!_" Ash said.

"We all do," the shaman said. "But that isn't an option right now."

"Sadly. Damn cultists…"

Kai spoke up. "Not so loud; you'll wake the whelpling." The drake had one claw resting over the other, with Tori curled up in the space between his forelegs. "Not to mention, the others."

"Sorry," Misty replied.

"Do you guys feel better now that you've had your little pity-party?"

"Much better, actually," the mage replied. "Feels good to vent."

XXX

The heroes, having had more than their share of time to rest, went to the town of Stonehearth and explained that Flint had sent them.

"No time to talk," the earthen said, "We've got to prevent a second front from opening up on the war! Before you can help us here, you're going have to deal with Therazane, the Stone Mother's, forces to the south. The elementals and giants upon the Quaking Fields are being mustered."

"Therazane?" Brock was confused. "But we worked with her earlier…"

The stone dwarf shrugged. "They, too, are after the middle fragment of the World Pillar. They'll attack us amidst our war with the stone troggs and we'll be unable to repel them. I've sent the arch geomancer ahead. Get to Slate Quicksand and do as he asks."

As they went to the edge of the cliff to rappel down, Brock muttered "It doesn't make any sense. Why would Therazane be working against us now? The shamans are trying to gather the pillar fragments, and she knows this. It's the key to ensuring her domain doesn't collapse! Why would she work against us? Doesn't make any sense."

"Yes, you've said that already," Jessie replied, irritated.

"I think this place is making us all cross," Starwisp said, making sure she was securely attached to her rappelling equipment.

"You're _always_ cross, Starwisp," Ash observed.

"And what's it to you if I am?" the elf snapped. "Don't I have a right to be cross, having to deal with louts like you lot, in a situation like this?"

"Starwisp, is it _that_ time of decade or something?" Gary asked, perfectly deadpan. Misty, Ash, and Jessie cracked up. James rolled his eyes, and Brock put his hand over his face. The implications went over Kai's head, unfamiliar as he was with mammalian female biology. The night elf just looked mortified.

"Do you have a death wish, mage?" she growled.

Gary's reply was unintelligible, as he was already heading down the cliff wall, but the tone of his voice suggested he was saying something along the lines of "Alright, alright, I was just asking…"

"It would certainly explain a lot about her!" Ash whispered to Misty as soon as Starwisp was over the edge of the cliff and out of earshot.

"It would," the paladin agreed.

At the bottom of the cliff, they met up with Slate. "Good, you're here. We'll have to act fast if we're to prevent Therazane's forces from attacking."

"Alright, what do you want us to do?" James asked.

"The emerald colossi are the greatest of the Stone Mother's creatures. They must be the first to be removed from the field."

Brock called out his onix. "Not an issue."

The earthen nodded. "Also, you're going to have to deal with the leader of Therazane's forces here. However, to get you to him quickly and safely, I'm going to need to perform a ritual. Go out into the field and collect elemental ore from the ragers. With enough of it, I should be able to make you one with the ground to get you where you need to go."

"Alright, kill monsters, collect objects, use objects to kill more monsters, nothing we haven't done a thousand times before," Ash said.

XXX

Slate was quite impressed. Quel'Delar's Chosen had torn through the elementals with machine-like efficiency. The colossi were no match for the Pewter City leader's star pokemon, and the others were able to gang up on the smaller elementals.

The stone dwarf accepted the reagents and prepared the ritual. He instructed the adventurers to shut their eyes. Then he hummed quietly as he scattered powdered rock in a circle and turned this way and that. A tingling chill washed over the heroes as they were temporarily changed into pure energy in the form of a tremor going through the ground, cracking stone and rumbling quickly across great distances. They went through a tunnel, around many cultists clashing with elementals. The group rematerialized right behind Avalanchion, the earth elemental leader in that area. He never stood a chance. The heroes didn't even need to bring their pokemon into the fight, and actually took more time getting back out of the cave without being noticed than they did fighting him.

XXX

Several dozen slain rock troggs later, the heroes returned to the dwarves again for more instruction. The earthen were impressed – these fleshy creatures were like clockwork. "Alright. To the north lies the Fractured Front. That is where most of the heavy fighting is happening. Go into Stonehearth proper and grab all of the thunderstones that you can. Our engineers need them for the catapults. When you have enough, take them to Clay Mudaxle. Don't mind his tongue. He's old and cranky, and should have gone back into the earth thousands of years ago."

"Wait," Ash said, "did you just say thunderstone?"

The earthen raised a stony eyebrow. "I did."

"As in, green crystals with lightning shapes in them?"

"Aye. Make good projectiles. Explode if you rig 'em right."

Starwisp looked at Ash curiously. "Is there something special about thunderstones, aside from their occasionally explosive tendencies?"

"They make certain pokemon – like pikachu – evolve."

"Of course!" Gary exclaimed. "Why didn't I think of that? More evidence to back my theory." As the heroes went to do as the earthen told them, the mage explained. "Many humanoids in Azeroth have more primal forms found in the Elemental Planes – dwarves have earthen here in Deepholm, obviously. Likewise, pokemon also have primal forms found in the elemental planes. This suggests some kind of common origin in the elements. If the primal pokemon are assumed to be the earliest – the closest to the titans' intended designs – then it would be logical to conclude that the evolutionary stones that are so fundamentally linked to them would share those origins, so of course you'd find them in the Elemental Planes. What's more, we have fire stones, water stones, thunder – that is, air elemental – stones, and leaf stones – which are probably loosely related to elemental earth. Why didn't I see that connection before?"

The night elf looked at him blankly. "And here I thought they were just rocks that people used for obscure elemental crafting."

"If they come from the elemental planes, why do they occur naturally in both worlds?" Misty asked.

"For the same reason pokemon are found in our world and dwarves are found in Azeroth. Some things from the Elemental planes are found in the regular worlds. Brock, I assume elemental energy is somewhat similar to arcane energy, in that there are areas of high concentration and areas of low concentration?" The mage continued to speculate.

"Hmm, somewhat. It's a bit more complicated than that."

"Then I'd guess that fire stones form where there's a lot of fire energy, etc. Maybe moonstones don't come from the sky at all, but are linked to arcane energy. But that's just a wild guess. Still, it's worthy of some investigation… Oh, won't Gramps and his colleagues be fascinated by all this!"

"You _are_ the Professor's grandson…" the paladin said. She shook her head with a smile, amused.

Gary just kept going. "So maybe… maybe our world and Azeroth were designed at the same time! It's said that the first thing the Titans did when they arrived on the unshaped world of Azeroth was to wage war on the elementals. Then they banished them to the Elemental Planes and set about shaping the world. So perhaps, perhaps they were doing the same to our world, and _also_ used the Elemental Planes not just as a prison for the elementals but as a shortcut or link between their twin projects! This would explain why there are things from our world that are found in the Elemental Planes but not in Azeroth, and things from Azeroth that aren't in our world but can be found in the Elemental Planes! They created two connected but distinctly different worlds that were allowed to mix in the middle ground. Then after the Titans finished, and shut the 'gates' they used to move back and forth, the two worlds continued to develop on their own, separately from the mostly-unchanging Elemental Planes, occasionally letting things slip from one to the other – such as the introduction of humans into our world – while the Elemental Planes remained a sort of time-capsule of the Ancient worlds! My god, I should write this all down…!"

"I understand that you're excited about possibly discovering the origin of the world, but the start of the world really won't matter if we don't get back to preventing the _end_ of the world," Ash said.


	39. Miles to Go Before They Rest

After being greeted by a very cranky earthen who made Starwisp look like a saint (and who essentially told them the equivalent of "get off my lawn"), killing yet more troggs, dropping off truly massive thunderstones, bringing back pieces of broken catapults, and slaying the leader of the troggs, who was really not all that difficult at all, the heroes were told to bring some of the spare parts to a catapult that had broken down some distance away.

Misty's warhorse and Starwisp's tiger were tied to some of the parts, and Brock's onix carried the catapult arm in its mouth as they set out to help the earthen warriors.

"You're telling me," the night elf said, "that the people of Kanto _never recognized_ the potential of thunderstones to be used as weapons?" When she saw thunderstones, she couldn't help but think of them as natural grenades.

"Well, we might have, but we never used them that way because it would have been stupid. Why use the thunderstone itself as a one-time explosive when you can use it to evolve your pokemon – a living weapon – into something much more powerful? Kill five enemies with a single explosion, or kill five hundred with a jolteon or raichu; it's really not that difficult a decision to make," Ash explained.

"Why haven't you evolved yours then?"

"Because it doesn't want to evolve. And really, I don't think it needs to." Pikachu said its name in agreement.

"It's ungodly powerful as it is," James said.

"What I want to know is why we're seeing thunderstones here in Deepholm instead of, say, Skywall," Misty said.

"I've seen some fire and water stones too. I think all the elemental stones can be found in Deepholm. They are stones, after all," Brock pointed out.

Gary nodded. "Makes sense. Hey, look, there's the broken catapult. God, how'd they break the freakin' _arm_ off?"

"I'll bet it was a giant," Jessie speculated.

The earthen quickly assembled the catapult with the parts Quel'Delar's Chosen had brought. "Alright. Let's see if we can get this thing moving again. We've got to get the catapult to the stone trogg town, Needlerock Slag, just to the north of the front."

"I assume you want an escort?" Kai asked.

"Of course."

Troggs attacked the catapult in small groups. With only one or two people defending the machine, they easily would have dismantled it again, but with such a huge group to fight, they didn't stand a chance. The heroes, on arrival, were immediately redirected to the trogg town itself to recover war golems and kill the trogg mystics, who were turning the golems against the earthen, and mind-controlling fungal monsters. This was where the real problem came.

"Down below in Needlerock Chasm is where the mystics are sprouting all of these fungal monstrosities. I sent Slate Quicksand and a small force to deal with it, but they've run into a snag. You remember the Arch Geomancer? Would you go down there to the northeast and lend him a hand?"

XXX

"The stone trogg mystics are creating those fungal monstrosities from the giant mushrooms to the north. I want you to deal with the giants and stone troggs. Make your way to the giant mushrooms and destroy them." Slate sighed. "We've never had such a problem in Deepholm before the destruction of the World Pillar. Your Earthen Ring must repair the damage before it's too late."

"Do these mushrooms grow here naturally?" Misty asked.

"Only some of them. The red ones are definitely new. I've never seen them before."

Upon going around the corner into the mushroom forest, the heroes were greeted with an unexpected sight. Among the orange mushrooms, there were red ones with yellow spots. And under these red mushrooms, small animals moved about.

"Are those… paras and parasect?" Gary asked, confused and not able to see them clearly behind all the rocks and fungi.

"Where?" Ash asked.

"Around the bases of the mushrooms." The warrior looked harder – yes, sure enough, there they were.

"You're right, they are."

"Just ordinary paras and parasect?" Misty asked.

"Those… shouldn't be here," Gary muttered. "They don't look like they're made of stone, and they're certainly not naturally rock or ground types…"

"What are they doing in Deepholm, then?" Brock asked.

Ash sighed. "I bet they're coming in from Kanto, through the rifts that the elementals used earlier."

"I was about to say the same thing," the mage agreed. "We'd best try to close those rifts off."

"I don't think we can," the shaman told him. "The Earthen Ring has been trying to patch this place up, but for every rift we close, another opens. Not until the World Pillar is restored will the damage be repaired."

"Damn." Gary sighed tiredly. "And we're only one third of the way there… And even when we're done here, we've still got so much to do. The cultists, Deathwing, the twilight flight… I'm sick of this. I really, really am."

"What should we do about the paras and parasect?" Misty asked.

"Uh…" The mage thought for a moment. "Guess all we can do is round them up and toss 'em back through the rifts, and hope they stay in Kanto where they belong."

"Wait," Starwisp said. "I haven't actually _seen_ any rifts here. Where are they all?"

"Well, you haven't been looking very hard, then. I've seen at least three or four," James said.

Ash, Misty, and Jessie set about slaying more troggs. Kai and James started destroying mushrooms and burning their spores. Brock, Starwisp, and Gary located a rift and tried to chase or throw all the invasive pokemon back through the portals to wherever they'd come from. The mage tried to come up with a way of stopping the rift for good, but couldn't come up with a permanent solution.

"We'll just have to make sure somebody finishes cleaning this place up once we've restored the World Pillar," the night elf said.

XXX

"While you were out there, Pyrium Lodestone contacted me. He said that there is a matter of great urgency and that your assistance is needed immediately. Return to him at the entrance to Needlerock Slag to the southwest. I wish you luck with the rescue of the Stonefather and the recovery of the middle fragment."

The heroes were displeased but not at all surprised. They let out a collective sigh and trudged off to what they knew could only be bad news.

Indeed, they were told there was good news, and "a slight problem."

"We found out where the Stonefather is being held and young Flint ran off on his own to rescue him! I don't have to tell you that this is bad. Flint is going to get himself captured as well, or worse! The stone trogg chieftain, Bouldergut, is at the end of the ledges above Needlerock Chasm to the north. Please, heroes, you must go after Flint and free the Stonefather before we lose them both!"

Nobody bothered to speak in response. It would have just been random curse words anyway.

XXX

The heroes rode up the narrow ramps of stone to the plateau where the Stonefather was chained. Flint was locked in combat with a huge rock trogg, and losing badly. Misty threw a holy shock spell at the stone monster.

"The cavalry has arrived," Ash said. His horse snorted and tossed its head. Bouldergut just grunted and charged toward the heroes. Gary threw a ball of fire at the ground and it exploded out in a blast wave, knocking the trogg onto its back several feet away. The heroes dismounted and quickly overwhelmed the lone trogg, forcing him to back away toward the edge of the platform. Starwisp ordered Aeroth to kill, and the owl swooped in and pushed Bouldergut over backwards. The trogg let out a yell as it tumbled over the edge of the cliff, down into the chasm below. A huge cloud of dust rose up with the sound of shattering rocks, and when it faded, nothing was left of the trogg chieftain.

"Father! Let me get you free of those chains." Flint rushed over to the Stonefather and bashed at the chains until they broke. "These heroes represent the Earthen Ring. They need the middle fragment."

Stonefather Oremantle looked them over thoughtfully. "You've saved both myself and my son. You have my gratitude and that of my people. Return to Pyrium Lodestone with the good news. We'll see you back at Stonehearth shortly. I'll see to it that you get the middle fragment of the World Pillar."

Flint offered his hand to Brock. "Sorry about my earlier rudeness. I was worried about my father. Friends?"

"Of course." The shaman shook the stony hand. "Now, let's get that fragment. We haven't got a whole lot of time."

XXX

"The Middle Fragment of the World Pillar! Thank you, friends. I can only imagine what you had to go through to get this to us. I'll see to it that it's placed within the center of the chamber."

"Alright, one more," Jessie said. "Just one more shard. Then maybe we can rest. Hopefully."

"This is so much more difficult than fighting the Lich King," Misty muttered.

"That's because we had all the time we needed to fight Arthas," Gary said. "This is a race against the clock. Our worst enemy is our own exhaustion…"

"No kidding," the others mumbled.


	40. This! Is! Deepholm!

"Only one piece of the World Pillar remains, and it is in the hands of the Stonemother herself. Worse, the temple has come under siege by elementals and giants. It's not a terrible leap of logic to assume they're acting by her will," Maruut said. "Go out and meet the elementals in battle to the northwest. Work with Torunscar and Norsala to find a way to communicate with their leaders and seek out the World Pillar. We would prefer such be done peacefully, but we will do whatever we must to seal the rift."

"Peacefully, eh?" Gary put his hand on his chin thoughtfully. Misty and Ash just looked at each other. They knew what he was thinking, and it was pointless to say anything. Gary could be just as brash and stubborn as Ash sometimes.

The heroes rode around the base of the Temple until they saw swarms of earth elementals. They found a pair of trolls waiting for them.

"Hey, dere! Thank ya for comin'," the male – Torunscar – said. "We weren't ready for dis kind of attack. We been expectin' da Twilight Cult, but not elementals... we've got no idea what upset dem so much that dey would turn on us like dis… You haven't been out dere killin' them, have you?"

"_Uhhh…_" everyone said in unison. Some laughed nervously, others put their hands behind their necks, and a few grinned sheepishly. Torunscar just looked at them like they were all idiots. They certainly felt like they were.

The troll then cleared his throat. "When da attack started, we pushed out to take da field as quickly as we could. Dere forces were deep and endless... we underestimated dem. Now some of our best shaman be stranded out dere, exhausted, far from our defenses. Make your way out and take da pressure off of our stranded brothas. Even a small break in battle be a chance to get much needed room ta breathe."

The female troll spoke up. "Elementals are chaotic by nature, an' dis kind of organized aggression is out of character. More so down here where dere deaths be a bit more permanent. I suspect dis is Therazane the Stonemother's doin', but I have to be sure. Destroy da Irestone Rumblers and bring me dere cores. We'll be settlin' here and now if dis is da Stonemother's hatred brought down on us."

The heroes readied their weapons and called out their pokemon for battle. Misty noticed that the stone giants looked topheavy and came up with a plan.

"Vaporeon, hydropump on the giants – try to knock them over."

"Clever," Gary commented, charging a frostfire bolt. "Misty, you never cease to impress me…"

"Less flirting, more fighting," Ash scolded, without looking away from the two elementals he was attacking. He teamed up with James, whose frost attacks rendered the elementals brittle.

There was a loud crash and the ground shook so hard that some of the adventurers nearly fell over – vaporeon had successfully toppled a giant.

An elemental crumbled under Brock's warhammer. He picked up the rocky core. This was what Norsala wanted. A frostfire bolt flew past his head and struck an elemental that was blindly rushing about with an owl on its head. Starwisp had ordered Aeroth to blind the elementals by covering their eyes with his talons while Gary beat them senseless. The elf herself mostly sat back and watched for any opportunity to shoot an arrow into a weak spot.

Misty dodged an attack and Tori lost her grip. The whelp flapped her wings wildly in an attempt to slow her fall, and actually managed to float down relatively gently, though she certainly wasn't gaining any altitude. She scrambled out from under the combatants' feet and hid under a rock until Misty could come and get her.

Onix struggled with stone giants as tall as it. Pikachu followed vaporeon around, using the water to conduct electricity. Absol mostly held things away from its master, unable to do much damage on its own.

Kai smashed elementals into the pillars of stone that jutted up from the ground and used his fire to heat rock until someone else could shatter it with cold. The adventurers helped the shamans get a chance to rest, then returned to the trolls.

Norsala examined the cores that Brock gave her. "So it is certain, den. Dese elementals were bound from dormant stone only recently. Only an Elemental Lord could bind so many elementals so quickly. It seems we are at war with da Stonemother herself… May da elements protect us."

"But aren't the elements attacking us?" the warrior asked, confused.

"Doesn't work that way, Ash," Brock explained. "Remember when Gary said that the will of Ragnaros was not the will of the flame? The Elemental Lords and their followers are not _the_ elements, and they are not avatars of the elements. They are merely physical embodiments of the elements – they have a will of their own. Even though we are at war with Ragnaros, the spirit of fire answers my call."

"I'll never understand this shaman stuff…" Ash muttered under his breath.

"And _that's_ why you're a warrior," Gary said, "because it takes muscle but not a whole lot of brain power."

"Gary," Starwisp growled, "knock it off." The mage backed down immediately.

Torunscar cleared his throat. "Have ya seen the looming giant in the distance to the northeast? Dat is Boden the Imposing, one of Therazane the Stonemother's Stone Lords. We be knowin' little of da Stone Lords, but Boden is not known ta be very level-headed. Sadly, he seems to be da one leadin' dis assault, so he's the one we must be confrontin'."

"No problem," the mage said, already heading toward the giant. The others followed as the young sorcerer approached Boden. Again, Misty and Ash exchanged glances. They'd known this was coming. The wizard fearlessly walked right up to the giant's feet.

"Diplomatic audacity, thy name is Gary," the warrior muttered. He and the paladin had a feeling that this was a bad idea, but whenever Gary had tried something crazy like that in the past, it had worked, so why bother trying to stop him?

"Lord Boden the Imposing." The mage bowed. "I come on behalf of the Earthen Ring. We wish your kind no harm. We seek to repair the rift between our worlds. Why do you attack us? If we mortals do not succeed, your realm will collapse, as will-"

"Hah! Did you mistake me for Diamant, human? Or perhaps some other whimpering, complaint stone trogg who cares? If you seek peace, relinquish the World Pillar and leave Deepholm. This is _our_ realm. Your only welcome here shall be found underneath my stone foot!" With that, he _kicked the mage across the clearing._ Gary crashed into a stone pillar and crumpled to the ground. For once, his audacity had failed him. Misty rushed over and healed him just in time – he had _barely _survived and would have been dead in minutes. The paladin actually ran out of mana recovering him from the brink of death.

"Holy shit!" Ash exclaimed, fleeing from the giant in terror.

"We're leaving, we're leaving, we're leaving…!" Jessie repeated over and over as she ran away.

XXX

"Yeah, mon... dat's about the reaction we were expectin'. He mentioned Diamant though? If da two don't get along, perhaps this Diamant be a bit less brash den Boden. At least it's somethin'. Let me see if I can get da earth to tell me where we might be findin' dis Diamant."

Gary looked slightly traumatized. "Someone else talk to Diamant. I don't want to be punted like a football again."

Misty laughed. "You poor thing."

"I'll speak to him then," Brock offered.

Torunscar knelt and put his hands on the ground. After only a moment, he jumped up. "My! Dat was unexpected. Diamant ain't far at all. When I reached out ta him, he spoke back wit me and told me where we could be findin' him. Head towards tha northeastern edge of the Jagged Wastes - Diamant will be expectin' ya. Now, be careful. It may be unlike an earth bein' to lay an ambush, but it was unlike dem to siege the temple in da first place."

XXX

"Ah... you must be the human that I was expecting. You have come on behalf of the Earthen Ring then?" the giant said, looking at Brock, who was leading the way. The giant had shiny purple crystals jutting out of his shoulders and head, several yards into the air.

The shaman nodded. "My name is Brock. I'm here to help."

"I would apologize for Boden, but stone is stubborn… It does not sway from its ways without the wear of time… The Stone Lords, Boden and I among them, are charged with retrieving the World Pillar. In that, we are at odds… I would extend my patience upon you, human… Prove that you are no ally of the Twilight Cult or Deathwing… Carry our hatred upon them. Strike swiftly where we cannot. Succeed and I will listen."

"We are always open to killing cultists," the shaman assured him. "Is there anything else we can do for you?"

"The Twilight Cultists are mining jade crystals near their camp. Foolish... Reckless... Gather the mined crystals. Take them to the center of their camp. Shatter them against the ground. The reverberations and the powered crystal will bring the tunnelers upon them… They will learn respect for the earth... Piece by piece... Rock by rock... with time."

XXX

The heroes fought their way into the camp, which was nestled in a ravine. The rocky cliffs above were especially tall to the north and the east. The twisted metal spikes and spirals jutted up all over. What purpose did they serve, or were they merely side effects of the cult's dark power? The purple scale huts were set up all throughout, and dark-robed cultists went about their business, unaware of the infiltration. Ornamental dragon heads plated with metal – representing Deathwing – adorned almost everything.

A shadow passed over them. "What was that?" Jessie asked. She suddenly felt nervous, as though she were being watched. She looked up, but didn't see whatever had cast the shadow. She went back to helping her allies.

Starwisp quietly crept ahead, and hid behind a metal spike. She silently drew an arrow back, leaned to the side, and shot a cultist in the head. The other two cultists in the area rushed over to where they thought the arrow had come from, running right past the elf… right into the trap. Ash charged from his hiding place and began slashing at the cultists. The spellcasters threw fireballs at them. They didn't stand a chance. The first cultist died to Jessie's soulfire, and Kai slit the second one's throat with a dagger.

Quel'Delar's Chosen continued into the camp, but Kai suddenly gasped, grabbed Starwisp and Brock by the wrists, and pulled them into the nearest hut. In a fraction of a second, Gary noticed whatever had scared the dragon, and followed his example, yanking Misty and Ash into the cover of the scaled hut. James quickly followed suit with Jessie, though he didn't know what he was hiding from. He was merely reacting.

"What's the matter?" Ash whispered. Gary gestured for silence as Kai pointed frantically out the front of the tent. The others gathered around him and looked where he was pointing. On a low rock, _way_ too close for comfort, a twilight drake was perched, just above where they had been about to walk into. They would never have known what hit them.

Moments later, the paladin gasped quietly. "That's not the only one," she whispered. She pointed _all along the cliffs._ "Oh my _god, _they're _everywhere!_" Misty was right. _Dozens_ of twilight drakes perched on the rocky outcrops surrounding the ravine. No wonder it had been so ill-defended. Only the entrances were weak – the interior was incredibly secure. The heroes had been _that_ close to walking right into a trap. The drakes, with their almost glowing blue and black bodies, tinged with purple, and their bright cyan wingtips, were easy enough to see in flight or once they'd been pointed out, but with their wings folded behind their bodies, on the bluish stone, among purple buildings, eerie glows, black spires, and all the shadows cast by the natural texture of the cliffs, they blended right in unless you were looking for them.

"What are we going to do?" Jessie whispered.

"I'm going to teleport us out," Gary replied, "that's what."

"We haven't finished Diamant's task! The Earthen Ring is counting on us!" Brock protested.

Gary sighed quietly. "Oh, hell."

They were, in both senses of the phrase, stuck between a rock a hard place.


	41. Jessie is Useful After All!

They remained there for several minutes. There had to be some way for them to finish their task, there had to be! At least they had the comforting knowledge that if it came down to a worst case scenario, Gary could get them out safely, but that wouldn't accomplish anything other than allowing them to live to fight another day.

Jessie suddenly looked like she'd had a revelation. "And here I thought that spell would _never_ come in handy…" The warlock grinned. "I'll channel an Eye of Kilrogg to distract the drakes, while I stay hidden in here. The rest of you can use that time to finish what we were sent to do."

"Someone will have to stay behind and protect her while she's in her channeling trance," Gary said. "If anything so much as pokes Jessie while she's controlling the Eye, the whole plan will collapse and then we'll all be _screwed._"

"That would be me," James said. "We have always protected each other and we always will. The Team Rocket trio will never abandon each other."

The cat pokemon wiped a tear from his eye. "Meowth! Dat's right…"

"With that sentimentality out of the way," Brock said, "we can now put our plan into action. Jessie, whenever you're ready."

The warlock nodded and let out a nervous sigh. Then she closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and raised her hands into the air. A glowing green orb the size of a basketball appeared in front of her. It had a slit-shaped pupil surrounded by a sickly yellow iris. Green fire burned around the disembodied eyeball. It moved around a bit, turned this way and that.

"_So this is how it works. I've never actually cast this spell before,_" the eye said, or rather, projected in Jessie's voice, echoey and slightly distorted.

"Your voice is certainly… interesting, coming from that thing," Ash commented.

"_I know! I have the same voice effect as James did when he was undead._"

"Anyway, let's get going. Do your thing, Jessie," Gary prompted.

The Eye of Kilrogg flew out of the tent and then started zooming around the cliffs, shouting insults and curses at the dragons as it went. If Jessie's colorful vocabulary was any indication, she was having quite a lot of fun. The drakes gave chase and followed the green eye as it zipped around the camp, still swearing like a sailor.

The heroes went back to work, killing cultists right under the dragons' noses. Brock gathered the crystals and threw them into a pile in the middle of the camp, then smashed them with his hammer. The ground rumbled. "Okay, run!" the shaman said, already heading back toward the tent where Jessie was channeling.

The warlock was unaware of anything going on around her, so the heroes waited for the eye to be as far away as possible, so that the dragons would have some distance to cover on the way back when the eye vanished, then James grabbed his companion by the wrist and bolted, dragging her with him as she came out of her trance.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go!" the death knight urged. "Before they see us!"

They returned to Diamant, who had been watching from atop the cliff.

"I have observed you, little ones. You do not fear shedding Twilight blood. In this, I am willing to extend you some degree of trust… It is a start… All things in time." The giant looked again at the camp. A Gyreworm was wreaking havoc. "Time brings respect to all. The smallest pebble. The largest mountain. The most stubborn cultist."

"Alright, now what?" Kai asked.

"There is a task that I can set before you. It is a dangerous task. Completing it will help impress the more stubborn Stone Lords. To the northwest is the Scoured Reach. Severe winds batter the rock and hide the true living threat underneath. Within the Scoured Reach are Gyreworms. They devour rock and move through it as if it were mercury. They do the same thing to our skin. Go to the Soured Reach. I will speak to you there."

XXX

The cave was carved in a spiral, a very distinct pattern, formed only by Gyreworms. The creatures responsible roamed nearby. They reminded the trainers of onix, but instead of boulders, they were made of stone rings. Their mouths were just circles of razor sharp crystal shards, like the stingers on their tails.

Diamant's voice rumbled through the ground. "Within the tunnels below, you will find the stone which you seek. Painite. The dangers ahead are many… Dangers that the Stone Lords themselves fear. Remain steady. Remain strong. The strength of the rock itself is beneath your feet."

Quel'Delar's Chosen wandered the round tunnels, trying not to trip on the uneven ground, with all its spiraling ridges. As they went deeper into the caverns, slaying small Gyreworms, they heard a rumbling sound. Soon they arrived at a perfectly ring-shaped tunnel, a roundabout of sorts in the middle of the tunnel network. The rumbling was getting louder. The floor vibrated.

Starwisp, as a night elf huntress, could sense when bad things were near, especially if enemies were few and far between, as they were in the cave. Suddenly she stood up straight and stiff, ears perked. Aeroth seemed similarly nervous, puffing his feathers up and shaking his wings a bit. The others held perfectly still as the elf remained alert. "Get aside!" she urged, leading everyone into a small alcove to the side. The rumbling was getting louder still! Moments later a gigantic red Gyreworm tore through the tunnel at top speed, coming within inches of Ash's arm with one of its massive teeth.

"That was too close," he said, when he'd recovered from the shock. "That was _way_ too close. Thank you, Starwisp."

They were much more alert as they continued into the depths to retrieve the stone.

"What's the matter, Misty?" the mage asked. The paladin seemed a bit nervous. She pointed at some little glowing creatures that skittered about on the ground.

"What, the shale spiders?" He looked at them. Gary didn't know why they were called spiders. They neither looked nor acted like arachnids. The only similarity was that they had multiple eyes and large fangs, and even those didn't _look_ much like a spider's. The eyes were glowing, floating crystal shards above their round bodies. The fangs were just shards of rock with the pointy end down, floating in front of the face of the creature – in fact, he'd at first mistaken them for another pair of limbs. They didn't have a spider's body layout, but a single round stone as a body, with four legs, jointed like human arms instead of bug legs. They didn't even trigger Gary's fear of spiders, but he supposed they still must look bug-like enough to scare Misty, whose phobia was far broader. "Oh, come on, they're just rocks with legs. They kind of cute, even." He held her hand to comfort her.

Of course, that did very little good when they ran into Amthea, the very large and very aggressive shale spider guarding the painite crystal. It let out an earsplitting squeal and charged at the heroes. One of its stone fangs punched right through Ash's armor, though he was able to force the monster off. Luckily for him, shale spiders were not venomous. The heroes launched into combat. The shale spider stood no chance.

XXX

"Well done, fleshlings! The gyreworms are among our most dangerous enemies. The other Stone Lords shall have trouble not turning their head to this accomplishment"

"Are these the ones you've been wasting your time with, Diamant?" a voice boomed behind them. Everyone jumped and spun around in shock. How had something so large as Therazane moved so stealthily?

"Not wasted, Stonemother. They have been very useful. It stands to reason that they may be here for exactly the reasons they say they are."

"Then you take responsibility for their actions, Diamant. You will be the one answering to me when they show their true intent." She looked at the heroes. "I allowed your presence in the past because of my respect for Aggra and her love for Thrall. _You_ are no friends of mine, fleshlings. Consider for a moment that you are entirely surrounded by rock in this place. The very ground you walk on bends to my will. If you betray us, there will be no escape for you. I will squeeze you to death so slowly you will hear every last one of your pathetic bones break. I'm glad we had this talk." With that, she left.

"You have much to prove, but you have brought the stone. That is an excellent start. The other stone lords have already heard my words. They should show you a degree of trust. At least enough so that you may prove yourselves. Earning their favor may take time. Earning the Stonemother's favor may take more time. Time is a potent offering, so be generous with it."

"But we haven't got time," Misty protested. "The rift grows more unstable every hour!"

Diamant nodded in acknowledgement but did not reply. He merely gave them directions to the next stone lord. "Among the Shuddering Spires far to the northwest, you shall find Kor the Immovable. He is evenly tempered. His situation lends itself well to seeking outside aid. Go to him."

Wearily, the heroes rode on, until they found Kor. His name was appropriate, as he was buried up to his shoulders in the ground. "Diamant says you are to be trusted. Diamant is patient and wise, so I shall allow you to prove yourself. As it happens, I could use hands that are more... mobile." Kor sighed. "Deepholm was a slow, quiet place. Always alive. Steadily moving. Never rushed. In this time, I strived to become one with the earth, and to a large degree, I succeeded. Later, the Earthwarder returned, injured. He did not upset the balance at first. He'd stayed here before, and we knew him. The shift did not truly begin until the Twilight cult joined him. I am glad that you are willing to strike at them."

XXX

The heroes brought the stones that Kor wanted and reported the deaths of the flayers he'd requested them to slay. It was an easy task, but he was grateful.

Brock noticed a small rock elemental with crystal eyes following him. He bit his lip, trying to resist its cuteness. It looked up at him with those big gemstone eyes. "Caris... carstr... crystal?"

That did it. Brock could not contain himself. "_Kyaah! It's the cutest thing ever!_" The others were practically doubled over with laughter.

Kor chuckled. "You seem to be quite adept at making friends down here. A good talent to have."

"_We are taking it to see the crystals. __**Right. **__**Now!**_" Brock insisted, already heading to the crystal falls. The others were coming whether they liked it or not.

"Brock, we don't have time for-" Gary protested.

"_I don't care! I can't say no to those eyes!_"

XXX

Having channeled from the crystals, the little elemental – Brock had dubbed it Pebble – bounced up and down happily for a while. Then it rumbled over to the shaman's feet and gave him the puppy eyes again. "Hug-nery... hungry..."

Brock pulled some of his supplies from the storage plane – food that he'd personally prepared for the pokemon. Pebble wouldn't even look at it. The stare was killing Brock. They marched back to Kor, and the shaman asked what mini-elementals ate.

"Are you certain you want to feed him? He might become attached."

"_Yes,_ I want to feed him!"

"Petrified zubats. Elementals of that size are picky. You're not likely to find anything better easily. To the east are basilisks. They petrify stone zubats that fly too close and snack on them when they grow hungry. You may find bats scattered around their territory. I must warn you… if you show that little elemental too much attention, you're unlikely to be rid of it. It can be very… needy." Kor made a sound like stones rubbing together – clearing his throat. "I've one more favor to ask, fleshlings. There is a basilisk, much larger and much older than the rest. Though we normally fear nothing from their kind, this one has become so potent as to petrify some of my sons. This shall not be abided. Find Gorgonite to the east and slay him. He has lived much longer than necessary."

XXX

The basilisks were a nuisance at most. They were not strong enough to petrify humans. The adventurers mostly ignored them as they searched the area. A pack of stone zubats flew overhead. A basilisk petrified one and it dropped to the ground, wings furled slightly, perfectly stiff. The heroes killed the basilisk before it could devour its prey. Gary picked up the petrified pokemon by one of its tails and examined it curiously. He poked it as though that would reveal more information, and asked "Is… Is it dead, or…?"

"I don't know, and I don't care," Brock said, gathering more of the petrified zubats that were just lying on the ground. He put them in a pile for Pebble, who leapt onto them and rolled about gleefully, seeming to forget that the humans existed. Perhaps that was for the best, given his interactions with Brock.

Indeed, the others decided to distract Brock before he could regain the elemental's attention. "Look, there's Gorgonite," Starwisp said.

XXX

"Thank you, fleshlings. You've done all that I can ask of you. I shall impart my favor for you to the Stonemother. May the stone beneath your feet hold you steady during your quest for the World Pillar."

"What else can we do for the stone lords?" James asked.

"Nearby to the north, you will find Terrath the Steady. He has taken upon the task of pulling the stone dragons back into the fold. We find ourselves repeating this trial every few hundred years... the stone dragons are fickle, and bend only to strength. Terrath is balanced and reasonable, but his goals may not be easily accomplished. Go to him. Appeal to the more balanced side of the Stonemother."

"Dragons, huh… This is right up our alley." The mage grinned.


	42. Why Mages Don't Heal

Kor unexpectedly gave the heroes a second task: "To the east, on the Crimson Expanse, you will find Gorsik. He embodies the more unstable and violent nature of our kind. He is neither friendly, nor trusting, but his word carries weight. Proving yourself to Gorsik will go a long way towards proving yourself to the Stonemother. Help him to deal with the corruption that has spread through that region, in the name of the Earthen Ring, and I'm sure he'll be thankful."

"Well, it looks like it's time to split up," Ash said. "The dragons bow to strength, and that's my area of expertise. I'll help Terrath."

The mage agreed. "Of the tasks at hand, my abilities are best suited to dragon fighting. I'd be utterly useless to the other group. Kai, obviously, should come with us." The drake nodded.

"I'll go to Gorsik," Brock said. "As a shaman, it is my duty to represent the Earthen Ring."

"Then I'll go to Terrath," Misty said.

Gary disagreed. "You're a paladin. You're perfect for dealing with corruption. You're needed in the Crimson Expanse."

"What? But who will heal you three? We only have two healers, Gary! It doesn't make sense to send them to the same place!"

"Unless they're both needed in the same place. It's just a few drakes; Kai, Ash, and I can handle it. We'll be fine. We have two tasks: balancing elements and reducing corruption, and fighting monsters. Ash and I are good at hitting things 'til they stop moving, but we're not so good at removing corruption from the environment. That's where you and Brock are strong. Besides, the dragons respect strength. They might see being healed as cheating. From a tactical point of view, it only makes sense to split the party this way."

There was an awkward pause. Ash looked at the mage suspiciously. "You're… arguing for a plan that would put _you_ in a small group _with me_… _and_ separate you from Misty. What is this, opposite day? Who are you and what have you done with Gary?"

The sorcerer rolled his eyes, but laughed along with the others. "Yes, yes, ironic, I know. But the alternative just doesn't make any sense. It would put people in situations they're not adapted to handle, and render at least some of us useless. And anyway, if I can't even come up with a decent excuse to be with Misty or to get away from you, there _is_ no potential excuse."

The paladin sighed. "I guess you're right. I just don't feel comfortable with this…"

Gary put his hand on her shoulder. "It's just for a little while. We'll be fine, I promise."

"I'll go with Kai. I always go with Kai," the huntress said, trying to get the conversation back on track.

"Then it looks like we're with the healers by default," Jessie told the death knight. "I love being with the healers! It means I'm less likely to _die a horribly painful death!_"

"We'll meet back at the temple. If the other group doesn't arrive within five minutes, the group at the temple should go look for them," James said.

XXX

The Crimson Expanse was a mushroom forest, named for the red crystals and fungi in the area. Gorsik had massive red crystals embedded in his body, and looked quite imposing.

Brock approached him. "Lord Gorsik, I come to you on behalf of the Earthen Ring. My name is Brock Harrison."

"You are Diamant's chosen. So small. So fragile. Do you realize that your actions shall be the basis which your entire 'Earthen Ring' is judged? You truly think you can stand for so many? You are a fool. A confident fool. We shall see if you are a capable fool as well.

The rift to your world has poisoned our home. Corrupted it. Polluted it. This expanse festers and grows. It becomes difficult to even see the purity of the rock beneath this filth. If you are here to lend your aid, then go about cleansing this overgrowth. Look for the brightly glowing mushrooms that are growing faster than the others. They are the worst of the offenders. Destroy them. The fungal behemoths that live here have succumbed to a weakness very similar to that which affects your kind. Their skin has grown soft. They no longer belong with the stone. Kill them. We do not wish to see this infection spread."

XXX

"Greetings, small ones. I have been told of your coming. If you wish to aid me, then perhaps I can be of aid to you as well," Terrath said. He was not dark stone like the others, but alabaster. "When the Earthwarder began to recover here, he became ill content with the quiet. With the peace. It was not long before he turned the stone dragons upon us. With Deathwing gone, they are without purpose again. We can remind them of our strength. Bring them back to the Stonemother. When we have punished them enough, they will bend back to our will. I have sent many of my strongest giants onto the fields in the west. They will bring the drakes to the ground. You will see to it that they do not take wing again after they fall."

"Do you want us to kill them, or just beat them into submission?" Ash asked.

"Several of them must die before others will even think to submit. Kill the first few."

XXX

The shaman and the paladin destroyed and purged the invasive mushrooms, and Jessie burned the spores to cinders. James guarded the others from attack by the giants, and the monsters were cleansed by the combined efforts of the healers. The Curse of Flesh did not belong in this world.

"Stop worrying, twerpette, I'm sure they're just fine," the warlock said.

"I can't help but worry. I'm a healer. I don't like letting them out of my sight. Especially Gary."

"After all the crap he's lived through, a few dragons aren't going to do him in," James said. "He's been punted into a wall by a giant, been half drowned in a sinking ship, picked up Frostmourne, fought the Lich King, stabbed through the chest with a sword, mauled by a pack of ogres…"

A figure approached through the red fog. Assuming it was a cultist, Brock lifted his warhammer and was about to strike when he recognized the draenei man as Lorvarius, a fellow shaman.

"It is good to see you again, friend. I see that your efforts go well. The Stone Lords appear to be showing you some degree of trust. We've come to help. We might be of some aid in tracking down the source of this sudden growth. I highly suspect your giant friend's aggressions are focused in the wrong direction."

"How are things at the temple?"

"Better, since you left. The giants seem to be listening."

Misty suddenly spoke up. She was examining the mushrooms. "I'm no druid, but this doesn't look natural to me."

Lorvarius knelt by the redhead. After a moment's examination he said, "I know that our Stone Lord friend over there is eager to blame this on exposure to Azeroth, but I suspect more domestic causes. The red fog seems to spur the growth of these mushrooms. This is most definitely magic in origin. Not even druidic. I suspect one among the stone troggs to the north. Go to Gorsik and point him in their direction. Hopefully this will help earn his favor."

XXX

Another drake fell out of the sky. It was already being subjected to a barrage of arrows and fireballs, and when it hit the ground, Ash was upon it instantly, striking it with stone hammers he'd borrowed from the nearby Earthen village – his swords weren't quite as effective as blunt weapons here. The airborne stone drakes clashed with their strange, dark, fleshy counterpart above. They assumed he was weak, and they were mistaken. Their roars echoed through the giant cave.

"How do you think Misty's doing," the mage asked.

"What, are you worried about her?" Ash asked.

"…Well… yeah…"

"Gary, _she's a paladin._ She could literally have a _nuclear bomb _dropped on her head and survive without a scratch."

"I know, but still…"

"If anything," Starwisp said, "we should be more worried about ourselves." By that, she meant they should worry about the mage and warrior. She wasn't worried about herself, but she was always concerned for the wellbeing of her boys.

XXX

"The stone troggs? And I am to trust you at your word? I have no love for the Verlok anyway. Suspicion is more than enough reason to lay waste to them. We shall see if your word is true." Gorsik started toward the troggs' home. The humans and their meowth companion followed, readying their weapons.

XXX

Kai had the neck of the fallen stone drake in his jaws. He couldn't bite down to finish it off without breaking his teeth, but he could hold it down while the others killed it. It whimpered in surrender – his cue to back off. Kai took to the air and hovered over the other drake as it rolled over onto its belly, slowly, and got halfway up, keeping its head, wings, and tail low.

"Victory!" the boys shouted, giving each other a high five.

"You have some bite in you," Terrath observed. "Well done, fleshlings."

"What now?" Kai asked.

"On the western edge of the Pale Roost, you will find a resonating crystal. Strike it with a hammer and the broodmother will come. Aeosera has ruled over the stone drakes for just over three hundred years." Three hundred years. This struck the boys, as they actually had a frame of reference for that one – Starwisp's entire life. This dragon had ruled for as long as the night elf had lived. That fact was mindboggling to them. "She is very strong. Be ready for battle. I will be there to aid you, but she will not be easily overcome."

The crystal had floating rocks all around it in a spiral leading up to a ring-shaped cluster at the top. Ash smacked it as hard as he could, and it let out a low, hollow ringing sound. It wasn't long before they heard wings flapping. Aeosera, the giant stone dragon, circled above the floating stone platforms. Starwisp's arrows weren't very good at piercing the rocky hides, but they could still carry magic. She shot a few at the dragon, but most hit the rocks. Gary decided to bypass the obstacle by climbing up the spiral of rocks, leaping from platform to platform. Starwisp and Ash followed him up. The elf stopped before she reached the very top, and the mage stopped on the last stepping-stone, but the warrior had to keep going. The dragon wasn't coming down on her own, so he had to get close enough to hit her.

Aeosera breathed fire at them, with the heroes just able to get out of the way, and Kai returned the favor. His flames were not as useful against her stony skin as he would have liked. Gary threw frostbolts at her in an attempt to crack or weaken the stone for Ash's weapons. It seemed successful enough. The warrior chipped off large chunks of stone.

The dragon looked like she was going to breathe fire again, so the warrior jumped to another platform just as she unleashed her breath weapon again. The stone platform cracked and fell. The warrior was too far away now to reach, so he kept rock-jumping until he could hit the dragon. In the meantime, Aeosera turned her attention to the mage. She spat fire, forcing him to blink to another stone. She smashed another stone right in front of Ash with her tail. The warrior attacked her flank. The dragoness spun to swipe at him with her talon. The warrior jumped out of the way, taking only a mild scratch, but the nearest stone was far enough away that he didn't quite make the leap.

Ash tried to pull himself up onto the rock. Kai blasted the dragoness with fire. Aeroth swooped around her. Starwisp and Gary threw everything they had at her to distract her, but she wasn't giving up on the chase. She slashed again, this time hitting the warrior, hard. He was tossed onto another rock, slid across it, leaving a trail of blood, and fell. He landed on one of the stepping stones not far below.

"You and Kai handle Aeosera," Starwisp said. "I'm going to get Ash!" The night elf slung her bow over her back and rushed down the stone spiral to where the warrior had fallen. He had a gash torn through his armor into his shoulder and upper arm, and was bleeding terribly. He was too dazed from the impact to know what was going on. The huntress knelt, picked him up, and darted down to ground level to keep him safe from further damage. He was heavy, because of all the armor, but as a strong, six-foot-tall elf, she could handle it. She pulled some cloth from the storage plane and removed the armor around the wound. She wrapped the wound as best as she could, but it wasn't doing much good. She searched the plane for a healing potion – they only had two left, old and low quality. They did practically nothing for the massive wound.

Kai struggled with the dragoness, trying not to take too many injuries. She swiped him across the flank and he tried to escape. He was bleeding and bruised, but he was able to shrug off wounds that would have been severe for humans. Terrath threw a large rock at Aeosera to distract her as Gary prepared another pyroblast. He followed it up with an ice lance. He put up his mana shield as the dragoness spat flames at him, and he responded in kind with his own dragon's breath spell. Finally, Aoesera surrendered. Kai and Gary rushed down to the fallen warrior.

"_Damn! _I should have known better! Misty was right, I shouldn't have told her to go with the others…" the mage felt terribly guilty. Ash was like a brother to him now. If he were to be responsible for the warrior's death, he'd never forgive himself.

Ash had recovered from the shock, but the bleeding wasn't stopping. "We don't have any healing potions?" Kai assumed. Starwisp shook her head.

Gary sighed. "I have an idea. I think I can stop the bleeding. Take the bandage off."

"Give it a go. We haven't got anything better," the night elf said, removing the blood-soaked cloth.

"What are you gonna do?" Ash asked, cringing.

"Hold still." The mage put his hands a few inches away from the wound. "This is gonna hurt like hell," he warned, and then cast a fireball before the warrior could react.

Not expecting the pain, the warrior cried out. "What the hell, Gary? You said you were going to heal it, not make it worse!"

"Well, dammit Ash, I'm a mage, not a doctor! What did you want me to do? We had to stop the bleeding somehow!"

"God, we should never have left Misty behind. This was a terrible idea!"

"Shut up, both of you!" Starwisp commanded. She put one arm around each of them and hugged them. The night elf sobbed with relief. "I'm just glad you're both alive… I thought I'd lose at least one of you there…" Kai folded his wings around all three of them.

Terrath knelt next to them. "Are you alright, fleshlings?"

"We'll be okay. He won't die from blood loss now, but we'd better go find our paladin so she can heal that burn," the drake said.

"Good luck. I have nothing else to ask of you."

XXX

"Now that my brothers are gathered, we will assault their village from below. The Verlok will gather on their rocky ledges, as they always do to avoid our ire. When they do, we shall make the earth itself shake them until they fall at our feet blow. That is where you prove your use. When they fall to the ground amongst my brothers, make sure that they do not rise again," Gorsik said.

"Hey! Over here!" Starwisp shouted. The four that had split off from the group now returned. The rest waited for them to catch up.

Misty saw the burn on the warrior's exposed shoulder. "Oh my God, Ash, what happened?" She rushed over to heal it.

"I had to cauterize a claw wound. He'd have bled to death without it," the mage explained. As she finished the healing spell, Gary hugged her. "We are _never_ going _anywhere_ without you again."

"Oh, I was afraid something like this would happen!" she said. "I just knew it!"

"We shouldn't listen to his stupid ideas anymore," Ash grumbled. The mage didn't try to defend himself. He'd thought he was being clever and maximizing the groups' efficiency. It had been a horrible, horrible idea.

"We all make mistakes," Brock said.

"Well his mistake almost cost me my life!" the warrior snapped.

"Might I point out that another of his ideas was what saved your life?" the night elf pointed out. Ash looked at the ground. That was true.

"I should have known better," Gary admitted. "I should have listened to Misty. She's the healer. She always takes care of us. I should have known better." What he wasn't admitting to the others was that he'd gotten cocky again. Maybe it was true, what people said: magic builds ego by nature, and it's the fragility of the mage that humbles him, not the magic itself. Gary had gone too long without being consciously reminded of that fragility, and his mastery of magic had caused him to grow too proud, too confident, again. This scare had put him back in his place.

"We have learned our lesson. No sense dwelling on it now," the death knight said.

Starwisp put the armor she'd removed back onto Ash's shoulder and let the mage cast his ever-useful repair spell. The group was quiet. Guilt, shame, anger, and conflict silently stirred under the surface.

Gorsik made a sound like stones grinding together. "We haven't got an eternity, fleshlings!"

Their hearts weren't entirely in it, but that didn't matter. They had to keep moving. The rift would not wait.

Quel'Delar's Chosen went to the trogg village and helped slaughter the ugly little creatures. Jessie found proof that they were causing the corruption, and presented it to Gorsik. The giant located the trogg leader, Glop, who was behind the whole thing, but the fiend ran into a cave before he could be killed. The heroes had no choice but to go after him.

"My mushrooms! Mine! Mushrooms grow big and strong! Too big to stomp on! So strong they stomp back!" The trogg proceeded to lead the heroes on an infuriating wild goose chase until they finally managed to corner him. Unable to run, he went down quickly.

Gorsik was impressed. The last of the stone giants was convinced. "It is time, then. The Stonemother will speak to you, at her throne room. Go, fleshlings."


	43. He Used to be a Cultist

Quel'Delar's Chosen were somewhat delayed by the terrain – terrain that did not give pause to the giants making their way to Therazane's court. As such, the giants were there long before the adventurers, already discussing them. The heroes paused outside the Throne Room to listen in on what was being said about them.

Therazane's booming voice said "You stand here trying to convince me that these beings of flesh should be trusted. They are the literal incarnation of corruption. Their very skin screams it. They seek only power, as the Twilight do. Yet you are confident that they will not turn on us. Did I raise you to be fools?"

Gorsik, who had beaten them there, responded first. "I have no love for the intruders, Stonemother, but these fleshlings went well out of their way to cleanse the filth from the Crimson Expanse. They are not the Twilight. I see no reason to oppose their goals."

"They slaughtered stone troggs, Gorsik? This is supposed to sway me? It is not much of a feat."

Another giant voiced his opinion. "I've not spoken with the strangers, but I bore witness to their champions treading deep into the Crumbling Depths and returning unscathed. They are clearly capable."

Terrath agreed. "These champions also faced the Stone Dragons and their Broodmother with no glimpse of fear or hesitation. I've seen the most hardy of giants falter where the fleshlings did not. And while one of them was gravely injured, for its body is fragile, it persevered. They had the spirit and resourcefulness to overcome their fragility to complete a task that would in no way benefit them… for no reason beyond that they were asked to. And those I saw seemed to genuinely care about each other. It is reasonable to conclude that they do have hearts."

Diamant, the first giant the heroes had helped, gave his thoughts. "You know where I stand, Stonemother. These champions have proved intent and capable. The brown one with small eyes in particular, seems to love the very ground it walks on – it loves the earth and the stone. The rest seem to at least be humoring that one. I see no reason to deny our trust."

There was a pause. Therazane asked one more giant what he thought. "What of you, Boden? What do you see in these 'champions'?"

Boden, the one that had lashed out at Gary, was the only one not convinced. "It's not bravery that drives them. It is arrogance and stupidity. It is audacity. The one with the blue garments in particular, with that disgusting mat of brown… what is it called, 'hair'? It strode before me like it thought this place its home. It is a fool. It will surely get itself and its companions killed soon enough."

"That very well may be. But I am not concerned with their intelligence. I am concerned with their trustworthiness and the purity of their intentions. Even fools have their uses. But we shall see…"

The heroes waited a moment, then entered, pretending they had not heard any of that.

"So… you've come," Therazane observed. She peered at the fleshy beings before her curiously. "Fleshlings just like you killed my daughter... my only daughter. With no provocation, at all. My daughter, Theradras, who had sequestered herself deep within the Crystal Caves of Terramok to grieve for her lost love, Zaetar. There, heartless, stoneless beings invaded and slaughtered her amidst her mourning.

If I had any reason to trust a creature afflicted by the curse of flesh, it was stripped from me that day, and if not, it would be soon. Not sated at stripping me of my family, more of you flocked to Deathwing to serve him in ravaging my home." She paused and again looked over the creatures before her. They were so tiny, so fragile. But they did have spirit, she had to give them that much. Whether that was a good thing, she had yet to decide. "You're quite arrogant to come before me asking for _my_ help. I'm tempted to crush you where you stand. And yet in your arrogance, you persist. I cannot determine whether you are desperate, or merely stupid."

Gary was tempted to point at Ash and tell Therazane that he was stupid, and the rest were desperate, but he understood that there were times when jokes were inappropriate. This was one of them.

"So small. So soft. It's a wonder you've even lasted this long down here, fleshlings. Or perhaps a testament to your abilities. All of this for a piece of the World Pillar? What exactly do you intend to do with it?" Brock calmly explained that they had come to seal the rifts between the three worlds, and that they needed the World Pillar to do so. "And what then? Will you leave Deepholm to its denizens?"

"_Trust me,_" Gary said, "we – at least, most of us – want to get out of this place as much as you want to get rid of us! The quest to restore the World Pillar is the only thing keeping us here, or we would have left long ago! This is no place for us. Of all of us, only Brock even remotely belongs here – and he's as much a being of stone as he is a being of flesh, at heart." That much was true. Even the elementals believed it. They recognized the shaman's connection to rock and stone. He was one of the few fleshy beings that actually seemed likable to them_._ Barely, granted, but it was more than most mortals could hope for.

"Besides," Misty said, "we don't want to stay where we're not welcome."

"I'm glad you're at least that perceptive," Therazane said. "I propose this: we will march on the Twilight cult and extinguish any utterings of Deathwing's name from this realm. Your Earthen Ring will march with us. You do this, and I will send Gorsik to the temple with our piece of the World Pillar. Seal the rift and leave this place."

"We'll be doing exactly that, then," Ash said. "Thank you, Stonemother."

"Save your thanks. We march upon the Twilight Precipice as soon as our forces are gathered. I expect to see you on the battlefield."

XXX

"Maruut," Kai said, "we need to rally the shamans – the Stonemother has agreed that if we help her fight the Twilight Cultists, she'll give us the last fragment!"

The tauren looked genuinely surprised. "You've done what I thought impossible. Well done, heroes."

"Of course we did," Gary said. "We're _Quel'Delar's Chosen._ We do many impossible things. We do the undoable for a living."

"Don't get cocky," Misty whispered. "We barely pulled that off."

XXX

"The assault has already begun," Therazane said. Twilight drakes and cultists, with their bound and twisted elementals, clashed against free stone spirits and stone drakes. "Spill the cultists' blood on the stone so I may sense their agony! Send them into disarray by slaying their two leaders! One is a human by the name of Boldrich. Small, as you are. But still dangerous, as you also are. The other is a priestess by the name of Lorthuna. She is wily and hard to corner. Strike swiftly and do not let her escape, or I promise you, you will regret it later."

The warrior unsheathed his blades. "I'll go after the leaders. Brock, why don't you come with me? Show them the fury of the earth!"

"Gladly, Ash." The shaman called out his onix. "Onix! Strike down the cultists. Their existence is an insult to all rock types, and many more!" The stone pokemon obeyed. With a deep growl that shook the ground, it rumbled into combat. It towered over the stone drakes that the cultists were fighting with – now they found themselves facing something _much _bigger than they could handle.

The others followed them into combat. Jessie started draining the life energy of a cultist. James fought with an armored cultist as Meowth climbed up onto the rocky ledge nearby to pick off his enemies with arrows. Starwsip climbed up onto a large boulder to do the same. Kai flew low over the Twilight Camp, breathing fire on his foes.

Absol took a running leap at a cultist and knocked the woman over. The second Twilight Cultist raised his axe to bring down on the white pokemon, but he was blasted with a beam of ice – vaporeon had her fellow's back. The first cultist screamed as the absol ripped her apart.

A twilight drake swooped down and breathed blue fire over Team Rocket, but the paladin healed them. The drake continued on its way, looking for another target. Meowth let an arrow loose on the scaly fiend. The projectile hit it in the side of the head. It roared and spun out of control, crashing into the ground, shoulder first, flailing its limbs and tail. It had barely missed Ash and Brock, who were trying to get to the Twilight leaders. Onix lunged, grabbing the drake in its mouth and tossing it against the cliff wall – its bones crunched and the drake fell limply to the ground.

Starwisp took aim as a cultist charged toward the paladin. The night elf let the arrow fly – it struck the man in the knee, and he tumbled forward as his leg gave out underneath him.

Boden, the first stone giant the heroes had met, was fighting with a large group of cultists. He stomped and kicked, but there were a great many of them swarming about him. Gary cast a flamestrike, then conjured a flame orb and set it in motion toward the cultists. Boden turned to see who had come to help him.

"You, little mage… Terrath wants you at the opposite end of the precipice. He is bringing down the twilight flight from the skies, and he thinks you will be of aid in killing their leader. Quite an impression you seem to have made, little one. Have you ever mused that none of this would have happened if I had just stepped on you during our first meeting? Fate is a strange thing."

"Fate… I'm not sure fate exists," Gary said. "All the world's a stage and we are merely players, but do we follow the script?"

"Does it matter? We all have a role to play."

"True. Good luck, Boden." And with that, the mage went off to find Terrath. The giant was fighting cultists, including a troll.

"Little mage, you are here!" He greeted Gary. The giant stomped on another cultist. The sorcerer cast a blast wave to help Terrath.

The troll shot an arrow at the mage, who put up his mana bubble as he saw the cultist drawing his bowstring. "Yer in o'er yer head, mage!"

Gary responded with a pyroblast, and blinked out of the way as another arrow flew toward him. From behind the man, he cast a dragon's breath spell.

Meanwhile, Ash and Brock had located the first of the twilight leaders. The shaman called upon his totems to grant him and his ally strength. Ash and Boldrich clashed as warriors should – hand to hand, weapon to weapon. The shaman kept his friend healed as Boldrich ripped him apart, but he was not as good at it as Misty. Blood seeped from gashes in the warrior's armor and many more wounds were hidden under dents. Ash managed to disarm his foe, and from there he could easily kill the Twilight Cultist. As he flicked blood from his weapon, a great blast of wind forced him to take a step back.

A twilight drake had zoomed overhead, a troll on its back. Moments later, a black drake followed. The hunter and the mage had taken their fight to the sky. The two drakes raced through Deepholm. Gary had the advantage – the hunter couldn't shoot him very easily as long as he stayed behind. He was the chaser, not the chased. Arrows would fly in the direction they were shot, too, but fireballs could change direction, to some extent. The twilight drake flew right at a cliff wall – Kai began to bank early, flaring his wings and tilting his body. The other drake waited longer than expected, allowing it to get behind.

Gary cursed under his breath. "Kai, try to drop down when you can; we'll catch them off guard." An arrow grazed his shoulder, and he cringed as the blood started to trickle down his arm. Kai yelped as twilight fire singed his tail. He turned sharply as another arrow sailed by. The troll cackled. Kai turned again, still not losing his pursuer! They were approaching a sheer drop into a lower section of Deepholm. "Now!" the mage said. Kai dropped like a stone, following the rocky wall down. The twilight drake zoomed after him, folding its wings against its body to speed its fall – Kai, on the other hand, opened his wings to slow the descent. The twilight drake reacted too late – Kai was behind him again! The black drake unleashed flames and actually managed to claw the unholy dragon's flank, but it clubbed him with its tail. He veered to the side in pain, but soon swooped up again. Gary took advantage of the angle and launched an ice lance into the twilight dragon's belly. It screamed in pain and flew toward the temple. Another arrow missed by a long shot as the troll tried to twist around to shoot behind him without falling off his mount. A second arrow soon followed – Kai ducked under that one.

The twilight drake evaded a frostfire bolt, but the scorch and fire blast could not be avoided without somehow blocking Gary's line of sight. This was what the drake intended to do. A fireball struck its rider. The twilight drake flew straight toward the wall of the Temple of Earth, but veered to the side, turning all the way so its wings were vertical, so it could squeeze between the temple and the green stone pillars surrounding the tower. Kai banked less sharply and suddenly folded his wings tight against his body. He was slightly smaller and could fit into the narrow space without turning if he just pulled his wings in. The dragons came out of the short corridor and were losing their height, beginning to fall. They allowed this and followed the edge of the temple down toward the ground, opening their wings and soaring away.

Back at the Twilight Camp, the shaman and warrior had cornered the high priestess – a blood elf. She wore black and purple robes and a white bandit mask. Her green eyes glinted with insanity.

"So, the Stonemother has finally gathered the nerve to challenge us has she? It's too late, don't you realize? Deathwing is already free! Your worlds are doomed!"

Brock cast a frost shock at her, followed by a lava bolt. Pikachu shocked her. She cackled madly. Yes, she was cornered, but so were her attackers! In this small tent, they had nowhere to run from her spells. The ground glowed dark blue, burning the adventurers. It didn't quite fill the whole tent, though, and they were able to squeeze up to the side. Ash got behind the woman and started attacking – his blades shredded her robes and body, but she seemed almost to enjoy the pain, cackling like a lunatic. She was completely out of her mind! She tried to bolt out of the room, but Brock blocked her path, slamming his warhammer into her gut. She crashed into the back wall and fell to the floor. Now sitting, dazed, she didn't have a chance to retaliate as Ash raised a sword to finish her off.

Her bandit mask had been damaged by the fighting. The ruthless elf fell back onto another plan. She allowed the mask to fall off and tried to look as helpless and frightened as possible, widening her green eyes and blinking to emphasize her dark eyelashes. It worked, just long enough. The two attackers, with their shared weakness for beautiful elves, were stunned by her beauty _just_ long enough for her to teleport away. "Goddammit!" Ash yelled, realizing what had just happened. They'd let her get away.

They looked out the door – she was on the roof of the next building over, laughing. "I'm not that easy, darlings!" And with that, she teleported again – to who knows where.

"That clever bitch," Brock muttered.

The dragons continued their chase over the floating stones scattered through the area. "I've had mah full of ya, punk," the troll suddenly shouted. He _threw himself off the dragon_, landing on one of the floating islands.

"Oh no you don't!" the mage muttered, jumping off Kai's back. He fell slowly to the island, landing gracefully, cape flowing behind him. He was already preparing a scorch spell on the way down, and now set it off. Not ready yet, the troll misaimed and shot his opponent in the gut. Gary cringed – but he would be okay, with healing. The mage replied with a blast wave and a pyroblast. A living bomb spell he put up earlier went off. The troll faltered and his next arrow hit the ground instead of his target. A fireball finished him off. Gary looked around – no way out but down. He located the battlefield where his friends clashed with the remaining cultists, on a cliff not too far away. _I can make it if I get a running start._ He ran as fast as he could, then jumped off the floating rock and cast slow fall.

Kai and the twilight drake still swooped through the sky, trying to kill each other. Now that they didn't have riders, they were free to tumble and swoop as they saw fit. The twilight drake twisted around to face its opponent as it allowed itself to fall backwards. It opened its mouth and blasted Kai with dark fire. The black drake responded in kind – the blue and orange flames swirled around each other. Then the drakes clashed, claws out. They tumbled, tearing at each other, biting, ripping.

The twilight drake broke free, its wing torn. It teetered in the air and listed to the side, the gash in its wing growing larger every time it flapped. Kai flew up and then dove down like a hawk, finishing his opponent.

Gary was already casting spells as he landed. The battle was nearing its end; the Earthen Ring was winning!

Ash and Brock made it back to the main battlefield. Onix slammed its tail into the ground, creating a shockwave that knocked several cultists onto their backs. The warrior hurried to put his sword through their chests. Misty finished one off with a holy shock. James beheaded another.

One of the last twilight drakes swooped down to attack, but Starwisp and Meowth shot it in the face and chest, piercing either its brain or its heart. It was dead before it hit the ground, or rather the cultist it landed on.

Soon, the battle was finished. Ash informed the Stonemother that the elf had gotten away. "I warned you of this. Still, their forces are shattered and their resources cut off. There is little they can do to me or my allies." The mage conjured water for everyone present. The battle had exhausted the already tired heroes and their Earthen Ring companions. "You have done as I've asked of you, fleshlings. I shall honor my word. Gorsik will meet you at the temple with our piece of the World Pillar. Finish your ritual and bind the rift. After you have done such, you Earthen Ring shall leave this place." Therazane turned to Quel'Delar's Chosen. "You, however… you can stay for a time if you want. You've earned at least that."

"I would love to, Stonemother," Brock said, "but duty call us elsewhere. Our work is not yet done. We have things to finish in our own world." Of course, he was speaking for himself. The others appreciated Therazane's generosity, but had no intention of staying in Deepholm. They were sick and tired of it. They wanted to see the sky. They wanted to see plants. They wanted to see water. They wanted to see the sun. They wanted _out._

XXX

"All of the pieces of the World Pillar are here, thanks to you. What you have done for us is immeasurable. These final moments shall be most crucial," Maruut said. "I hesitate to ask more of you, but I'd like you to stay with us and see this through. The Twilight's Hammer was devastated by your attacks, but not destroyed. It's no stretch to assume they will try to stop us from completing our ritual."

There was a sudden sound of combat, as if on cue. "Oh, of course," Jessie muttered. The heroes split into two groups and headed into the back rooms – the cultists were streaming in through portals in the side chambers. The heroes fought with them, and they came at a slower and slower rate. They were still coming through the gate, but the heroes heard someone cackling in the main hall. They assumed the Earthen Ring could handle the side chamber cultists as they helped defend Maruut. Ash knew that cackle. So did Brock.

"That damn elf!" Ash growled. But it was too late! Lorthuna, the priestess who had escaped earlier, had already slain Maruut.

"_Stop her!_" Torunscar shouted. "_We can still complete da binding!_" He didn't stop channeling his spell. The elf was running around madly, throwing shadowbolts all over the place as she laughed and danced about like a child playing in a field of flowers. It wasn't just what she had done that angered Quel'Delar's Chosen, it was her personality too. She was so childish, so insane, and so irredeemably evil. Ash didn't consciously notice it, but she reminded him of a dark version of Zaraia – with only a few changes, going down a different path in life, this was what the blood elf mage could easily have become. He tried to chase her down, to get back at her. She teleported around and battered him with shadowbolts.

Suddenly she jumped up onto a broken pillar, laughing. "Deathwing will bring destruction on your entire order! And on this day, I will be his blade!" She cackled and channeled a spell. Nobody could have seen it coming. Twilight Ascent. Lorthuna changed into a twisted mockery of an earth elemental.

Just as suddenly, a familiar voice shouted "Ma'haat, slaughter these rabble. I will deal with the fool priestess." It was Therazane! "You should have taken the hint when we destroyed your precipice, cultist."

"Hang on! We are almost done!" Torunscar said. Therazane cast a much stronger version of Brock's earth spike. The heroes gathered around as Lorthuna faced off with the Stonemother. Together, they could bring her down! It didn't take long. She regained her elf form as she fell, and died still laughing.

"It is done. Tank da elements," Torunscar sighed. "With da pillar restored, this realm is safe. We now must attend to da wound on da surface."

Norsala looked up at Therazane. "Tank you, Stonemother. It was an honor ta have-"

Therazane interrupted her. "You've proven true to your word, Earthmender. For that, we will spare you our wrath. Once your wounded are gathered, you can thank me by leaving. I will return to my Throne now."

There was a pause. Torunscar knelt by the fallen tauren. "Maruut said when this all started that he would gladly give his life to see our task done. He would be proud of this success… of this death. The rift is now closed on this side. Deepholm should stabilize. It will take a little while for Thrall to mend the wound in Azeroth, and we'll likely need to remain until he finishes doing so. Thank you for all you've done. I doubt we could have accomplished this so soon without you."

"What about the rifts in our world?" Ash asked.

"Those should seal up on their own," Brock said. "The rift between Deepholm and Azeroth was directly torn by Deathwing. The others are simply the result of imbalance."

Gary contacted Fleezlebop to inform her of the success. Wendy and Rex would soon spread the news, and the people of Kanto could finally relax – for now.


	44. Thirty Percent Adventure!

"_Now,_ let's get the hell out of-" Gary was cut off by a female gnome, small even by gnome standards – barely taller than pikachu.

"Hey, wait!" The little woman said, running up to the group, her cherry-colored ponytails bouncing. Gary stopped channeling his portal spell.

"We came here to investigate rumors of a Titan artifact up at the Masters' Gate to the southwest. We've confirmed the presence of a waygate. There are _so_ many cultists up there, it's got to be important! One of those Twilight's Hammer cultists must have the plans for what they're doing up there. Would you go get them for us?"

"_Excuse me?_" Gary asked indignantly. "Do I look like an errand boy to you?"

"Yes," Ash replied, perfectly deadpan. Gary just glared at him.

Misty, hands on her hips, gave them both a death glare. "Gary, that was rude! Ash, stop being a jerk." She turned to the gnome and smiled. "Of course we'll help you."

Gary put his hand on his face. "_Misty!_"

"The paladin has spoken," Brock said, implying that Misty's word was law. And it was – there was no further complaining from either of the boys.

XXX

"Where's the waygate?" Starwisp asked. "She said it should be right up here!"

"This was a stupid idea," Ash muttered, wiping blood off his blades.

Vaporeon let out her melodious "Re-on!" to call attention. Once the humans were looking at her, she led them around a rock wall. The waygate was tucked just out of sight. There was no mistaking the Titan architecture – columns and brass.

"Well, that's a waygate alright," Jessie said. "Now what?"

"We kill more cultists and…" Something distracted Misty. "Loot… their…" She trailed off and backed away.

"What's the- Oh. Ehh…" Gary looked uncomfortable. The others followed their gaze. Three purple spiders. Not giants, thankfully, only three or four inches long – small by Azerothean standards.

"Oh, for god's sake," James muttered. He stepped on one of the spiders. Its exoskeleton crunched under his boot. The other two skittered away. Pikachu zapped one, and absol inexplicably decided to eat the third alive.

"Ew! Absol, don't eat it, you idiot!" Gary exclaimed.

"Crisis averted," the death knight said. "Now, let's please move on."

They continued their rampage until they found pages of plans. "What even is this language? Demonic?" Misty scratched her head, baffled. "Jessie, can you read this?"

The warlock took the page and looked thoughtfully at it. James, despite knowing he wouldn't be able to read it, peered over her shoulder on the off-chance that it was written in Scourge runes. "Nope," Jessie said. "I can recognize about three runes on the entire thing, and that might be coincidence."

She handed it to Gary, the group's amateur linguist, in the vain hope that it might be some obscure language that by some miracle the mage knew. No luck. "Not Darnassian runes, not Dwarven, certainly not Common or Orcish. I'll bet it's Old God or something." He handed the paper back to Jessie. "No idea what it says. Sorry."

"Gary the polyglot fails to translate something? _Impossible,_" Ash commented sarcastically.

"Ooh, impressive. Ash knows fancy words like polyglot. My astonishment at your verbal grandeur and sophistication is boundless. You are indubitably far more erudite and eloquent than I might have previously hypothesized."

Misty and Ash paused a moment. They did understand what Gary had just said, but it took a few moments for it to register.

"The worst part is… Sometimes, I actually _think_ in sentences like that," the mage said.

"Wait, you actually _think?_" the warrior replied in mock astonishment.

Misty rolled her eyes. "You two…! We're busy! Now's not the time!"

While the boys were verbally sparring, Jessie actually did something productive. Having located a strange machine and examined it, she'd determined that it was used to translate or decrypt or do something to the plans. She looked at it for a moment, shrugged, and put the paper in. The warlock pushed a button, and the machine whirred for a moment before spitting out a translated page.

"Ahem. Who's awesome? I'm awesome." She waved the page at the young rivals.

"Good job," Brock said. "What's it say?"

Jessie skimmed over the page, not really paying attention to what she was reading. "Something about a pyramid, Halls of Origination, Planetary Reorigination… God, I sound like Gary…" The mage snatched the page out of her hand and hurriedly read it.

"Oh shit." Looking as though he'd seen a ghost, Gary handed the page over to Ash and rushed over to the waygate. Meanwhile the warrior started to read the page. He also went pale.

Gary started pushing buttons on the waygate control. "We can't let them get to Uldum! Ash, give me one of the combinations – something that'll shut this thing down. Is there something about the Firelands on there, maybe? Molten Core?" Ash read one of the combinations aloud and the mage entered it. "Run!" was his only instruction as he fled as though he'd lit the fuse on a box of TNT.

He barely got back to the others, who didn't have time to run. The waygate was already powered up. Misty instinctively put up a Divine Shield to protect her friends, just as a fiery explosion shook the ground and destroyed the gate.

"Let's get out of here," Starwisp said.

XXX

"That pyramid at the Maker's Terrace in Uldum is nothing of the sort. It's a giant machine that can be reconfigured for any number of uses. Deathwing was going to have the Twilight's Hammer turn it into a massive weapon! You have to get this information to Harrison Jones in Stormwind. He'll know what to do. You can find Doctor Jones teaching an archaeology class in Stormwind Keep."

"Freaking finally," the mage said, already conjuring a portal.

XXX

Stormwind City was a welcome sight. The trees were lush and green; the sky, littered with scattered clouds, was bright with the sun's warm glow that reflected off the lapping waves in the white stone canals. People bustled about on the cobblestone rodes. Horses neighed and hooves clopped. A baker pushed a small wagon full of bread through the streets, shouting his prices. People chattered. The clock towers that were still intact chimed out the hour – six in the afternoon. The sun was fairly low and would soon approach the horizon.

"_The sky!_" Ash exclaimed. He'd never been so thrilled to see the cloud-streaked blue above.

"The _sun!_" the mage agreed.

"_Water and fresh air!_" Misty said. She laughed.

"I'll never take all this for granted again," said Jessie.

"It wasn't that bad," Brock said, folding his arms over his chest.

"Yes it was," Starwisp muttered.

"Well, it's nice to be able to tell what time of day it is," James said. He yawned. He had no idea how long it had been since he last slept. His sense of time was completely out of whack.

"I can tell you what time it is," Gary said. "It's _archaeology o'clock!_" He grinned. "Something tells me this is going to be awesome."

XXX

Doctor Jones was wearing a formal suit and in the process of teaching a class when the heroes poked their heads in the room.

"…Because archaeology is the search for fact. Not truth." Jones crossed out something on the blackboard. "If it's truth you're interested in, Cuddy Nordlinger's Philosophy class is right down the hall." The class – composed mostly of young women for some unfathomable reason – laughed. "So forget any ideas you've got about lost cities, exotic travel and digging up the world. _Seventy percent_ of all archaeology is done in library. Research. Reading. We cannot afford to make mythology at the face value." Gary looked deeply disappointed.

Jones glanced at the clock. It was time to wrap up the class. One of the ladies in the front row sighed audibly and fluttered her eyelashes. "Ahem! Well… ah, next week: Tanaris. Starting with the excavation of Broken Pillar by Marvon Rivetseeker in Year 22. I will be here doing research if anybody's got any problems for the next hour and a half. Class dismissed!"

Quel'Delar's Chosen waited for the students to leave and quietly entered the room. Harrison ran his finger along the spines of books on a shelf, looking for one in particular.

"Excuse me, Doctor Jones," Misty said.

"Question on the homework again?" Jones asked, not looking away from the books. "You really should get a tutor."

"Um, I'm sorry, I'm not one of your students," the paladin replied awkwardly. Harrison looked over his shoulder.

"Oh! My apologies. I thought you were Vivian. You sound like her. How can I help you?"

"We're Quel'Delar's Chosen," Ash said. "You might have heard of us. We were told you'd know what to do about this." He handed the professor of archaeology the translated page. "We got this off some Twilight Cultists.

"The pyramid inside of the Maker's Terrace in Uldum can be used as some kind of super weapon that will end all life on Azeroth…" He put a hand on his chin and thought for a moment.

"You need to continue the research you've begun. Head to the southern end of Kalimdor, to the desert of Tanaris. There's a caravan there that will soon be leaving for Uldum. Perhaps you can tag along."

"What about you?" Brock asked. _Don't tell me we came all the way out here for him to just tell us where to go. He's got to be more important than that if she sent us to him._

"I'll look into this as well." Harrison went back to his bookshelf, knelt, and pulled out several books with dusty leather covers. _Uldum: a History. The Lost City of the Tol'Vir. Alpha and Omega: the Titanic Origins of Azeroth._ "I have some serious research to do."

The paladin yawned, and some of the others echoed her. They were all so tired. Now that they were in Stormwind, they'd be able to stay in an inn – quite a luxury for them. It would be nice to sleep in beds. They'd set out for Uldum the next morning. The caravan would get to Uldum when it got there, and if they hurried, they'd be able to catch it. One night wouldn't make a difference. For now, they'd earned their rest.

XXX

Misty 'awoke' in a magical forest, much like Teldrassil or Ashenvale. The leaves of the trees were purple, pink, and a deep green that looked blue in the darkness. The girl sat up, and she felt and heard water moving as she did so – she'd been lying in a Moonwell. Vines curled around the stones at the edge of the glowing pond. Silver water dripped from her ponytail, back into the well, the source of the only sound. All was calm under the light of the stars. The full moon, round and white, cast a silver glow over the world.

The paladin heard footsteps behind her, very soft and faint – whoever it was walked with an elegant, dainty step. She turned and was immediately struck by the radiant sight before her. A pale skinned night elf woman with silver eyes and white hair down past her waist, barefoot and dressed in a thin white robe, adorned with silver chains and cresent-shaped jewelry including a platinum crown, stood silently, glowing with the light of the moon. She was both difficult to see in detail and so impossibly beautiful that the girl felt a lump in her throat and had to blink back tears.

"Why are you here?" Misty asked. "I don't worship you…" Elune was silent. The goddess merely tilted her head slightly. Guilt washed over the paladin. That had been a very insolent thing to say to a goddess, not to mention stupid. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude."

Elune was still silent. "Why are you here?" Misty asked, growing nervous. Elune was just standing there. There was a long pause. "_Elune, what are you?_" the paladin couldn't keep herself from asking. "What are you? Are you the Light?" Elune smiled but did not answer. "Are you a naaru? An Old God? A Titan? A pokemon, a night elf, an elemental? What?"

The goddess finally spoke. Her voice was like music. "I am whatever you need me to be," she said gently. "I am the love and compassion that friends have for one another. I am the tenacity and hope of a good soul that will not give up. I am the respect that mortals have for all living things."

Something about that clicked with Misty. Compassion, tenacity, respect. Where had she heard that before? In her dream, she could not piece them together. What did it mean? She knew there was some significance to it!

Elune smiled gently upon the girl. "And of course, I am The Moon."

"Why have you come here?"

"You will understand in time. All will make itself clear." The wind picked up. Purple leaves swirled through the air, lit from above and below by the moon and its holy well. The goddess's long hair and dress fluttered in the wind and she glowed more brightly. Her voice became one with the wind. "_Remember me…_"


	45. Adapting to the Desert

An apple bounced off Ash's head. He grunted and pulled the covers up over his face, but could still see the light streaming in from the open door.

"Wake up, Ash; it's two o'clock. God. I was beginning to think you were dead. _Hope_ you were dead, even."

The warrior pulled the blanket down just under his eyes and squinted at whoever had opened the door. Then he groaned and rolled his eyes. "What the hell, Gary! You jerk, I was having the best dream…" he whined.

"Lemme guess. It involved elves in skimpy clothing." Ash, still half-asleep, just mumbled something about druids and blushed. Suddenly a sly grin spread across the mage's face. "_Ohh…_ Were you dreaming about _Crow?_" He laughed.

The blush deepened. "Wh-what? How-… Wh-where did you get _th-that _idea?" Gary just looked smug and turned to leave.

"Come _on_, everyone's waiting for you, sleepyhead. We need to get going if we're going to catch up with the caravan."

XXX

"What's the closest you can get us with a portal, Gary?" Brock asked.

The mage looked at a map. "Best I can do is Theramore. Then we ride south through Dustwallow Marsh…"

"Again?" Misty asked, her heart sinking. "I hate that stupid place."

Gary shrugged. "Once we go through the southern pass, it shouldn't be _too_ hard to find a way across Thousand Needles. It's a great canyon with stone pillars rising high into the air. Tauren have built settlements atop them and strung bridges in between. We can just cross those bridges or I can cast slow fall on us and we can ride through the base of the canyon and through the salt flats. From there we enter Tanaris Desert. Cross that and we should find Uldum around… here-ish." He pointed to the map. It was a rather old map.

"That sounds like an awfully long ride," Ash muttered.

"Stop complaining. Let's go." Gary started channeling the portal spell. They all stepped through, into Theramore, yet again. "I think I've been to this city more often than any other place on Azeroth," he commented. "It's like my home-away-from-Kanto or something." The people of Theramore had added a bridge to the side of the island-fortress. Before, even though Theramore was as far from the northern border as it was from the southern one, the heroes had to ride all the way north, around, south, and fully across the zone – highly impractical. Now the new bridge cut the travel time in half by providing a shortcut directly to the center of the zone.

"Well _that_ would have been useful about a year ago," Starwisp said. She got on her nightsaber and patted his head. Aeroth, perched on her shoulder, hooted quietly. He liked the swamp, making him the only one in the entire group who did.

"I don't know if the swamp's any less dangerous now. Let's have our pokemon out like we did before – except you, Brock. Onix won't fare well in Dustwallow Marsh," Ash said. He summoned his horse. The heroes rode out over the bridge and into the deep, dark, dank forest.

"Gee, why do I feel like I've done this before?" Misty asked sarcastically.

"I don't know!" Gary replied with equal sarcasm. "Déjà vu, eh?"

The ride was uneventful, though creepy. Sometimes they caught glimpses of unaligned undead – mindless zombies and ghouls created independently from the Scourge or any other masters. Strange animals cried out through the forest. It was a bit cold, with the sun's light blocked by fog and thick canopies of leaves, vines, and moss.

The adventurers were glad when they reached the edge of the forest, reentered the warmth of the sun-beaten lands, and began to work their way down the winding path that led to the cliffs overlooking the Thousand Needles. They stopped halfway down.

"Uh, didn't you say this was a canyon, twerp?" Jessie asked.

The Thousand Needles had become the Thousand Islands. The tops of the stone pillars stuck out several yards above the water, reflecting sharply in the bright cyan waters. Tauren buildings with leather tarps and totem poles could be seen atop some of the pillars, tan with blue, cyan, and white paint, and the occasional splash of red.

"It… was…" The mage mumbled quietly.

"Evidently it flooded with the cataclysm," Brock said.

"Well, how do we get across?" Kai asked. He took his dragon form and perched at the edge of the cliff, leaning a little over and looking at his own reflection. He spread his massive orangey wings to soak up the sun's warmth while the others tried to figure out what to do.

Starwisp looked sadly to the southeast. "My father and I rode through the salt flats a couple times – before you showed up. What a shame. I wonder what's become of the racetrack? He always loved the goblin races."

James spoke up after a pause. "The water is no obstacle. I can walk on water; so can Brock. Between the two of us, we should all be able to get across with no trouble."

"It would be best if I simply cast my spell on everyone here – that way we don't have to worry about holding hands and staying in contact with the death knight," Brock commented. He started performing the shamanistic ritual. Gary cast slow fall on everyone to get them down to the water safely – jumping down while under the effects of water walk would be like jumping down onto solid rock. Their mounts floated down and landed easily on the surface of the water. It was mostly still, only rising and falling slightly. The horses stumbled a few times, but never fell. James didn't need to have water walk cast on him. He simply used his old technique of creating a path of frost. They rode across the flooded canyon. It was warm – sunlight hitting them from above, sunlight hitting them from below, reflected by the shining water, especially when they got out past the thicket of stone spires and into open water. It was salt water, by the smell of it – probably due to the salt flats Starwisp had mentioned. Kai flew over them, allowing the breezes to help lift his wings as he soared lazily across the canyon, enjoying himself. He could bask in the sunlight, rest, and cover distance at the same time, and that was perfectly alright by him.

Brock had to refresh the spell a few times, and they stopped to rest now and then. If anyone got too warm, they moved near James, with his frozen aura, or under the shadow of Kai's wings. After resting, the ride continued. Finally, they approached the southern border, where there had once been a high mountain pass, now little more than a gentle slope out of the water. Starwisp's nightsaber padded up the path to the very top and she waited for the others to follow her. There, before them, the mountain path went down again, winding into the low desert of Tanaris. Looking to the east, it was also partially flooded. Its famous beaches had brought the party up to Gadgetzan, further boosting the popularity of the bustling goblin town.

"Traveling through dat isn't gonna to be practical," Meowth said, looking out on the endless sea of sand dunes and mysterious giant bones. "Not with the sun glaring down on us."

"I'll put up some frost wards. That should make it easier. We can't afford to let a little sunshine stop us. It's freezing cold at night and blisteringly hot in the day. If we only travel at dusk and dawn, we won't have any time to do anything at all," Gary said. He could be very stubborn sometimes. "We can't afford that. Not when Deathwing's minions are snooping around out here for a superweapon."

"We'll be traveling and fighting through a desert in the heat of the day?" Starwisp said. She shook her head and muttered "We must all be insane."

They rested for a short while, and then rode onward. It seemed like forever. Once the sea and mountains were out of sight, it felt like they weren't moving at all. The sand dunes went on forever, with only ancient bones to break them up.

Again and again, the heroes stopped to rest, but always, Gary pressured them to continue as soon as possible, stubborn to the point of wearing metaphorical blinders, always pushing the others onward.

Tori nestled herself further into the space between Misty's legs and the front of the saddle, digging her small claws into the leather and snuggling up against her caretaker. The sun reflecting off the sand hurt her eyes, so the little whelp squinted or shut her eyes entirely. She could tell there was tension in the group, something putting pressure on them. It made her nervous.

"There's the caravan!" Jessie said, pointing. A wagon pulled by kudos and a group of camels moved slowly toward Uldum. The heroes urged their mounts to speed up. As they approached the caravan, a voice called out.

"_Ahoy!_" It was the man who'd jumped overboard in Vashj'ir. Apparently he'd somehow survived by sheer virtue of insanity and dumb luck. Crazy people could do crazy things.

Adarrah greeted them. "Oh, it's so good to see you again! You've come here for the treasure, too, right? The ancient region of Uldum has been exposed! Treasures beyond your wildest dreams, free for the taking! But we just need a bit of an escort, what with the bandits and all. Would you do that for us? You're welcome to all the loot you can haul off!"

"Um, actually, we're not here for the-" Gary began.

"_Yes we are!_" Jessie interrupted. "What kind of loot are we talking about? Gold? Gems?"

"And more," Adarrah said.

"What are we waiting for?" the warlock said. "It's treasure hunting time!"

"This is the most excited I've ever seen her get for adventuring," James muttered.

Quel'Delar's Chosen accompanied the caravan into Uldum, through the pass. The sand there was lighter than in Tanaris, as was the stone. The rumors of ancient cities were true. The very first thing the heroes saw upon entering Uldum was a massive tomb. A _huge_ statue of a strange winged creature, built like a centaur but entirely leonine, graced the top of the rectangular sandstone building. Hieroglyphs were etched into its walls. Even the ground they rode over was covered in large stone tiles, though windblown sand hid great sections of them.

Something let out a loud noise, primitive and nonsensical. Hyenas laughed. Suddenly the caravan was surrounded by crimson hyenas and their masters – tiny, ugly pygmies, like twisted gnomes. The heroes were about to perform their role as caravan guards, but the pygmies had this down to an art form. Each of the adventurers felt a sharp sting – a dart – and then blacked out.

XXX

When the heroes awoke, they were in small cages, two or three to a cell. Their heads were pounding. Whatever had been on those darts couldn't have been very good for them. The world spun around them, dizzying.

The paladin regained her senses, slowly. When the fog had lifted from her mind, she tried to figure out where she was, and where all her friends were. She was able to locate all of her humanoid companions, and Kai. But then she realized someone very important was missing.

"_Where's Tori?_"


	46. Keep Calm and Carry Weapons

"Pikachu?" Ash looked around, dizzy. He called again, this time in a panic. "Pikachu!"

Gary had his hands on his face, as though he had a terrible headache. "Wha' the hell…?"

Everyone's minds cleared. "Where are we?" Jessie asked. Most of the captives began to talk at once, in a panic.

"Everyone calm down," James commanded. The others immediately went silent. "We'll figure this out."

"I have a lock pick," Adarrah said. "I can spring the door of this cage." She set to work.

Gary's senses had finally returned to him. He stood up, dusted himself off, and examined his prison with his arms folded over his chest. "Really? These aren't even magical bars. What kind of loser mage do they think I am?" He blinked out of his enclosure without any trouble.

Meanwhile, Adarrah's door swung open. Misty and Brock joined the woman outside the cage. The shaman went to open the other cages when he realized that his warhammer was missing. "Guys? Where are our weapons?"

"Aww hell," Jessie muttered. Ash was still freaking out over the loss of Pikachu. Now that he realized he didn't have his swords either, he collapsed to his knees in a state of shock. He was entirely helpless. Misty was worrying about Tori, and this certainly set her back.

Gary utterly panicked upon hearing Brock's words. "_Quel'Delar is gone!_"

"Wait a moment, where's Meowth?" the warlock joined the group panic upon noticing the lack of his presence.

"_Everyone calm down!_" James repeated. "Clearly we're in some kind of stronghold. First order of business is to escape the cages. Second, we'll find our missing possessions and teammates. They've probably taken our weapons for their own use and our pokemon and dragon for pets or – hopefully not – animal products."

"_How can I calm down? I've lost Quel'Delar!_" Gary shouted.

"_Gary!_" Misty yelled at him. "We have more important things to worry about than your stupid sword!"

"You don't even care!" He snapped. "You don't even care about anything but that little dragon of yours! What about stopping Deathwing? Without Quel'Delar, I-I…"

"Stop fighting!" Ash shouted from inside his cage. "Now is the worst possible time for you two to get into a lovers' quarrel!"

"Here comes the guard! Watch out!" Adarrah shouted. She bolted for cover. It was too late for the others. The guard was already there to put them back down, and what a fiend it was. It looked much like the cat-taur statue the heroes had seen on the way in: four legs on a leonine body with a humanoid upper half. The guard lacked wings, however, and its presumably cat-like head was obscured under a helmet or mask depicting some sort of jackal. The creature was made entirely of stone, like the axe it wielded. Charging forward, it swung the weapon at Misty. Gary grabbed her by the wrist and blinked away. She cast a holy shock at the jailer as the mage threw a fireball. Jessie cast shadowbolts between the bars of her cage. Brock joined in with a lava bolt and earth shock.

Kai considered shifting into dragon form and using the change in mass to break the bars of his cage, but he'd crush Ash and Budd if he tried. He had to simply stay in and watch helplessly.

The stone creature's axe tore through the mage's side. His blood splashed vibrantly red onto the sandstone tiles as he collapsed, clutching the three-inch-deep gash and trying not to bleed out before Misty could save him. She was so busy dodging attacks that all she could do was send a single holy shock his way. Brock took over for her, and the soothing magic waters of his healing spell washed away the blood. The mage got to his feet and the two of them helped the girl by casting their frost spells together – a shock and ice lance. Misty's judgement spell brought the creature to the ground. Its four legs had given out underneath it, but it tried to hold itself up with its arms. The paladin moved to pick up the axe, but decided not to. A weapon like that would do no good against creatures of stone. She cast another judgement on the creature and it died at her feet. Gary immediately started looking through what could only be called saddlebags minus the saddle, trying to find the key to the cages, and after some searching he found it.

"Come on, let's get our stuff back and get out of here," he said, unlocking the cages. "Hopefully they haven't done anything to Pikachu or Tori or Meowth."

As if on cue, a little red creature came bounding up to them on all fours, leaving a trail of bloody clawprints on the tiles in her wake, a sword held in her mouth and nearly causing her to tip over forward from the weight. "_Tori!_" Misty exclaimed in relief. The whelp tripped as she tried to stop and fell over, her tail hanging over her head as the sword slid a couple inches in front of her at the girl's feet. She got up again, flapping her wings energetically.

"Mist-ih! I finded! I finded!" she chirped. Kai practically squealed with joy.

"_She spoke common! That's the first time I've heard her speak common!_"

Misty laughed and picked the dragon whelp up. The paladin hugged her tightly. "Good job, Tori!" She looked at the bloody trail and then down at her own chest, where Tori had left streaks of blood on her breastplate from pawing at her. "What happened?" Tori didn't seem to understand. Misty tried again, speaking slowly and clearly. The whelp replied in a mixed string of gibberish-sounding, broken common and draconic, with some nonsensical babble mixed in for good measure.

"Something along the lines of them taking her to one of them for a pet. And he had the weapons," the drake translated what he understood. Some of what she'd said was just baby-talk because she didn't have the vocabulary to express everything.

"Mowth too."

Gary looked confused for a moment. "Mouth? What abou… oh! Meowth!"

The whelp nodded and continued babbling nonsense. Tori let out a high pitched whine of frustration because she couldn't figure out how to express everything she wanted to say. "Zap zap!" There was a silence. With increased frustration, Tori repeated. "No-wings yellow zap zap!"

After a pause, Ash asked "Pikachu?" Tori clicked her tongue. The others took this as a yes. "Where?"

"Ih! Kirasath!" The whelp started to lead them away, when an unfamiliar voice called out.

"Wait!" They looked for the source of the voice. Chained to the wall was a creature very similar to the guard. He'd heard and seen everything. He, however, lacked a mask, and most importantly, was made of flesh. His fur was like that of a tiger, or for the trainers, an arcanine was what sprang to mind. "Please, strangers. You must help me…!"

Tori looked back to see why the others weren't following. She waited a moment, then slipped in between Misty's ankles.

"I came here to investigate the arrival of a powerful ally to the Neferset, only to be betrayed by my closest allies and given up to the enemy. Go to the terrace above us to the east and find the information I failed to uncover. You'll need to hide from the Neferset. Perhaps you can hide behind one of the large plants on the platform to conceal your presence. Do this for me and I will help you to safety."

"Neferset?" Jessie repeated blankly.

"The stone Tol'vir you fought. They are the Neferset clan. I am Nadun, Prince of the Ramkahen tribe."

"I will go take a look," Starwisp said. She looked for a ramp, stairway, or door of some sort, but couldn't find one. Instead she climbed a nearby palm tree, turned, and threw herself to the nearby edge of the open-air second story of the building, between the pillars. She stealthily crawled on her hands and knees to one of the potted plants and shadowmelded behind it. Kneeling, she watched.

Before her was a massive djinn. His lower body was a purple whirlwind, his upper body blue and covered in purple tattoos. His face was an unholy mix of goblin and gnome, complete with the curled mustache and beard. He wore only a short cape, belt, bracers, and decorative chains, and of course a turban. Two Ramkahen Tol'vir stood before him.

"You are the only ones in your tribe with any sense left. As a reward for bringing me Nadun, I will grant you the gift that is your birthright and more. Your makers failed you… Your flawed race succumbed to the curse of flesh. But Lord Deathwing's Gift makes you perfect again!" the djinn said, turning them to stone like the Neferset.

Starwisp mouthed the words "Oh, Elune" and crouched in closer to the plant. The two Tol'vir eventually left, and then she was free to go back to her friends.

XXX

"I see," Nadun muttered. "This does not bode well." He had been unlocked from his chains while the elf was gone.

"We should hurry. It's only a matter of time until we're discovered," Brock said. "We don't want to be caught unarmed again."

"Tori, show us the way," Gary said. Now that the excitement was over, the whelp had returned to her usual silence. She led the way, bits of dried blood flaking off her claws as she returned to her former captor – who she'd escaped by scratching him until he dropped her. The adventurers, with Nadun in tow, entered a large sandstone building, and there he was: the Neferset who had taken their weapons. Misty gave her sword to Ash so he'd have something to use. He wasn't used to her weapon. It was lighter than his own, and shorter. It felt off balance, but it would have to do for the time being.

"Thank da stars you're here! Get me outta here!" Meowth said, standing up in his cage and smacking at the bars with his wrists, which were tied together with a wire. He was connected to the pikachu in the next cage over by the wire – apparently the Neferset had been shocked a couple times and had tied them together with metal so the electric pokemon couldn't attack without hurting its friend. On the other side of the room were their weapons, stacked against a golden statue of a ram kneeling on a large box. The mage caught a glimpse of Quel'Delar!

The jackal-hooded Neferset charged, but Nadun charged right back. The two Tol'vir clashed and grappled as Nadun tried to disarm his stone rival. Gary darted for the back of the room, past the struggling creatures. He picked up his sword and turned to cast a pyroblast at the Neferset. Nadun wrenched the weapon from his enemy's grasp. Brock got his warhammer and imbued it with fire. He brought it down onto the stone Tol'vir's flank in an elemental primal strike. He followed up with an earth shock and a lightning bolt.

Jessie hurried over to the cages and tried to pick the locks open with her newly-recovered dagger. "No, no, first cut da wire!" Meowth urged. She sliced it easily with her dagger, and Pikachu was free to shock its captor as much as it liked. Jessie set about picking the lock and then untied Meowth's wrists, before trying to open the other pokemon's cage.

James cast a frost spell immediately after Gary's fireball, cracking the stone Tol'vir's body. Ash charged and rammed his sword into the crack with all his might – it was terribly bad for the weapon, but it did what he'd intended it to. The crack widened and the Neferset began to fall apart. Kai shapeshifted and brought his claws down on the weakened Tol'vir, killing it.

"Alright, how are we getting out of here?" Ash wondered aloud.

"I know! We can put on some of the cat people's armor and hold each other up and they'll think we're manataurs like them!" Budd suggested.

There was a long silence. "_Shut your stupid face, Budd. Shut it!_" Adarrah said.

"Kai, go look for the exit. You're a black drake, they won't mind you flying around. They'll think you're on their side. We'll wait here. Then I'll set stuff on fire so they won't be able to see us through the smoke and we can get away," Gary said.

The drake nodded and left the building. He took flight and circled above the city. Indeed, a few of the Neferset waved at him, thinking he was one of Deathwing's minions. His eyes scanned the perimeter of the walled city – there, an exit! He plotted a course to the exit in his head. Then, Kai landed a short distance from the building, took his human form, and told the others to come out and follow him.

XXX

Nadun led the adventurers to the city of Ramkahen. It was located snugly between the two branches of the central river, lush and green with palms, flowers, and ferns. "My brother, the king, will surely reward you for helping to free me."

"Thank you, Nadun," the paladin said politely.

"No need." He paused. "What are you anyway?"

"Humans," Brock said. "And one night elf. And a drake."

The adventurers walked over the river, tripping several times on waves. This unusual magic seemed to amuse Nadun. Finally, they entered the city. It was guarded by a pair of giant statues – men with the heads of falcons. The sandstone buildings had awnings over their entrances, some of them with merchants selling their goods. Ramkahen Tol'vir came in as many colors and patterns as there were big cats – black panther, spotted leopard, tawny lion, striped tiger, and more. They stopped what they were doing to look at the odd sight before them.

Nadun led Quel'Delar's Chosen into the palace – a rectangular building with obelisks at the corners and a glowing white triangle etched into the front wall. "Brother," the prince greeted King Phaoris. The king's pet lion yawned. There was a pause; the heroes assumed that under the ram-mask, Phaoris was doing a double take, like the rest of the Tol'vir who'd seen them.

"These outsiders rescued you?"

"They did. They call themselves Quel'Delar's Chosen. They are … humans?" Nadun looked at them for confirmation. "And a… night elf." Starwisp nodded.

"We are in your debt, then, strangers." He motioned to a servant, and said something to him quietly. The servant left. "You have done the Kingdom a great favor. Unfortunately, you've also unbalanced a very delicate peace process. I was trying to arrange for Nadun's release through diplomacy to avoid bloodshed. Now they will surely seek retribution."

"There is no reasoning with the Neferset, Phaoris!" the prince said.

"They've sided with Deathwing," Gary told him. "Diplomacy will only hold them off for a little while anyway."

The servant returned with a large chest. He put it down and opened it. Jessie's eyes went wide. It was full of gold coins, full to the brim! "At any rate, this is your reward. We will deal with negotiations – or war, if it comes to that."


	47. Just Like the Movies

"Well, this is just what we needed," Ash said sarcastically as the group left the palace. "Another dilemma. Don't forget what we came here for – the mechanism that the Cult's after. But on the other hand, we've now got to deal with his Neferset minions."

"I'm sure the Ramkahen can deal with the Neferset," Brock said. "We should look into that machine. Somehow. But where to start?"

"Oh, stupid. We came all this way and don't actually know where to begin," Starwisp said, smacking her forehead. This startled Aeroth, who stumbled and hooted loudly.

Luckily, Mack Fearsen had them covered. "Hey, Harrison Jones says he's lookin' fer you lot. He's off to the northeast, just inside the entrance to Uldum if'n I recollect correctly. Where we was attacked by them little buggers. Hows about you go give em what-for while yer there?"

XXX

"I knew there had to me more to you than that, Doctor Jones," Jessie said with a grin as the heroes arrived at the building where they'd been ambushed. Indeed, the archaeologist was now wearing a leather jacket, thick boots, a brown fedora, and a bullwhip, rather than a suit. Around him were dead pygmies.

"Good to see ya, kids. Would have been better if you'd showed up to help me with these pests." Harrison adjusted the fedora and stood up. Barrels of TNT were all around.

"I take it there's something in that building we want," James said.

Harrison nodded. "With any luck, inside this chamber will lie clues to the legendary Coffer of the Promise. That's right; it's not just a myth. I believe it truly exists." The others looked to Gary. He usually knew what all the historical and mythical artifacts that were mentioned were. He just looked at the professor blankly. Doctor Jones shook his head. "I'll explain more later. For now, just give me a hand with these explosives.

Gary was about to do as he was asked, when a pygmy showed up and shot a dart at Harrison's mule. The mule reared up, kicking the mage, who bumped into the warrior as he crashed to the ground. Ash in turn knocked over a brazier, spilling the hot coals all over. Of course, this ignited some of the fuses.

"Oh dear," Jessie muttered.

"Looks like we're about to blast off again…" the death knight added.

"Everyone get over here now!" Misty shouted. She put up a divine shield over her friends as the explosives went off. It protected them from harm, but they were still tossed high into the sky. Midair, Gary cast slow fall on them so they wouldn't die from the massive fall. They landed softly near a giant obelisk.

"Well then," Brock commented, dusting himself off. "That was interesting."

"Hey, look at dis!" Meowth said, picking up a large stone. "Ooh, it's heavy!" The slab was engraved with glyphs.

Gary noticed something in the sand. He knelt and dug it out. "Here's another one." He blew the dust out of the engravings. "Titan runes." He showed it to Harrison.

"Excellent. This is just what we needed." Doctor Jones grinned. "This is never-before-seen information!"

"Let's dig around a bit, see if we can find any more," Kai suggested. He started digging randomly to see how deep they should search. As it turned out, the sand was only a few inches deep – underneath were sandstone tiles. That would make their work much easier.

"So… seventy percent of archaeological work is done in the library, eh?" Gary said, digging up more tablets.

Jones smiled. "The remaining thirty percent is adventure. I stress the academic side to keep the students from getting over-excited and to keep out the ones who don't actually have any interest in history."

"Doctor Jones…" Misty had something shiny in her hand.

"What's that you've got there, little lady?" The archaeologist took the disk from the paladin. It was the topper for some kind of staff. He pulled a pair of glasses from his pocket and put them on. "Let's have a good look at this, then."

"Hey, Gary, don't you have an old staff in the storage plane somewhere?" Ash asked.

"I dunno." He checked – indeed, he had one in there he'd forgotten about. "Here." He put the staff against the wall so the tip extended past the corner. "Someone help me hold this down. Brock, smack the end of it with your hammer. That ought to snap it off and then we can connect it to the disk." Kai and James helped him keep the staff in place and the plan worked just fine.

"Well, I can't find any more tablets," Starwisp said. Harrison nodded and started to decipher them.

"This is remarkable work you've done! Especially since you've never taken my courses. These tablets provide new information on several subjects. They indicate that these obelisks are part of an enormous ancient mechanism that once kept this region masked from the rest of the world. They also depict how to recharge the mechanism, which is where your staff – the Shaft of the Stars – comes in... Get ready, kids. We have some history to make!"

"This is awesome," the mage said, grinning.

"Just stay alert. Who knows what we'll find down there."

They returned to the gate, which had been blasted open by the TNT. Kai looked over the edge. It was a pit straight down, then it curved, like a laundry chute or the book return slot at a library. Gary cast slow fall on everyone again. "Don't worry about getting back up – Kai can always fly us out." Harrison gave him an odd look. "Oh, yeah, he's a dragon. Just so you know." Doctor Jones glanced over at Kai. It was pretty obvious what kind of dragon he was, but if he was working with the heroes… On the other hand, he could be acting as a double agent. Harrison decided to keep an eye on him anyway.

They arrived at the end of the chute. Another sheer drop before them, they took a few steps back dizzily. It looked safe enough, so Gary jumped down and floated safely to the floor. The others followed. "Whoa," Jessie muttered. The room was massive and square. In each corner was a giant statue of a mummy, every fold of the stone clothing, every taut wrinkle of the dry green skin painted carefully. Each pointed to the center of the room, where a strange golden machine lay dormant.

"What a find! And somehow it's all remained untouched by plunderers... Listen. I need to document this site before we disturb anything. While I do, why don't you have a look around - you know, explore a bit? You've earned it. Keep your eyes open for anything unusual. Oh! And please... don't break anything, ok?" There was a murmur and nod of agreement. Quel'Delar's Chosen normally hated being treated like children, but somehow it felt natural coming from Doctor Jones. They were perfectly okay with it.

A few minutes later, Starwisp called out nervously. "Doctor Jones? It hasn't been completely untouched. There's a… fresh body over here. I have a feeling there's a very good reason it hasn't all been damaged."

"There are skeletons lying around too," Ash said.

Starwisp looted the corpse – a journal and a pair of strange goggles. The goggles had sapphires used as the lenses. "What the…" The elf set them aside and started to read the journal.

'_I've found an incredible site! The whole area pulsates with the hum of ancient architecture. If it were not so late in the day, I would investigate the chamber immediately! Sleeping, tonight, will be a struggle... _

_A most productive day, today! The chamber is indeed of ancient origin, and houses a magnificent mechanism which seems to be in disrepair. I will investigate further tomorrow. This discovery will surely force Schnottz to take notice of me! How could he deny me a promotion after something like this? _

_It has taken me all day to wrestle the cipher from these hieroglyphs: Through the eyes of blue is starlight revealed. Ten shards, one rod, and the veil disappears. Forget Schnottz and his empty promises! If I can unravel this riddle, its secrets will be mine! _

_I've done it! Using sapphire from the chamber's adornments, I have fashioned a pair of goggles. With them, I am able to see things previously hidden from view. Amazing! With luck, my next entry will find me a newly rich man!_'

"Well apparently not," the huntress muttered. What on earth was meant by ten shards, one rod? Then it dawned on her. They had found ten tablets, and one staff. They had found what this poor fellow had failed to.

A scream pierced the air, followed by flashes of light. As Misty had walked by one of the skeletons, its bony fingers suddenly shot out and closed around her ankle. It let out a dry rasp! She retaliated with an exorcism and a judgement, and it let go, hauling itself to its feet. The paladin imbued her blade with holy power and slashed at the skeleton. Her holy magic quickly dealt with the undead monster, but there was tension in the air now. "So, I think we've found out why nobody's taken anything."

Harrison was done documenting. Starwisp brought him the glasses and the riddle in the journal. "Oh, of course Schnottz would be here." He shook his head. "Alright. The missing piece of the puzzle can be found with the goggles. You found them, so…" He offered the glasses to the elf. She shrugged and put them on.

"I look stupid as hell, don't I?" she asked. She pointed at Gary accusingly. "Don't answer that question." Gary just tried to look innocent, and failed miserably. She looked around. "Oh my. So many ghosts. And… well isn't that just hilarious. Wisps of starlight. Those are probably what I'm looking for."

She moved to pick up something the others couldn't see, then yelped in surprise and shot an arrow at nothing. Of course, from her point of view, she'd picked up the starlight and shot at a ghost, which dissipated when the arrow passed through it. Brock motioned for everyone to hide behind a statue to avoid being hit. Soon, the night elf had gathered all the starlight she needed. "Let's do this." Harrison gave the staff to her, and she wrapped the wisps around it. Then, the archaeologist tossed the staff into the center of the pit the machinery was suspended in. It hovered as though caught in a magnetic field, and red beams of light shot out from the head of the staff into the eyes of the statues, which began to crack.

"Oh, they're probably going to let something out that will try to kill us," Jessie observed. But they didn't. They simply cracked and the staff fell down. There was a long pause.

"Okay," Brock said, shrugging. He was perfectly fine with things not going as expected when the expected was an attempt on his life.

"Ah, that's it," Doctor Jones said. "The pieces we need are hidden in these statues! They look to be a bit off balance as is. Maybe if we tip them over... I must say, your field work is coming along nicely. If you applied yourselves, you could make fine archaeologists one day." He began to uncoil a rope. He tied a loop in it and threw it at the statue's hand. It caught. "Perfect."

"I have an idea," Kai said. He took his drake form. Harrison took a step back. "Don't worry, I'm on your side. Tie the rope around my chest like a harness." The archeologist did as he was told. "Stand back," the drake instructed. He started to strain against the rope. Stone ground against stone as the statue started to move ever so slightly. The dragon's claws slid against the floor, catching here and there and digging shallow grooves into the tiles. Slowly, he began to move forward. The statue creaked. The drake picked up speed as the resistance lessened. Finally, down it went! The statue broke into many pieces. Scarab beetles skittered out in a panic, and an orb rolled out of the statue's head. The drake repeated the same procedure on the other three statues.

"Now…" the paladin muttered, picking up an orb. They fit into the sockets at the corners of the machine pit. Once they were all in place, the machine creaked into motion. Gears turned, pistons pumped, and a beam of bright yellow light shot upward through a lens in the ceiling.

XXX

Outside, the heroes looked over at the obelisk directly above the chamber they'd been in. The top of it was now shooting a beam into the sky. "Interesting," Kai commented.

"I'll need to look through my notes before we continue. Let's return to Ramkahen city," Jones said. "There's no telling how we might use the power these mechanisms generate."

XXX

The archaeologist was inside, reading through his notes. Meanwhile, the heroes took the time to look through what the local merchants were selling. A snake charmer was playing his music and a cobra danced. All was calm. Too calm. Except Gary.

"What's with you?" Ash asked, observing his rival's nervous behavior.

"Something isn't right…" The mage kept looking up at the sky. "Something feels wrong with the energy here. It didn't before, but…" Part of Ash wanted to be skeptical, to dismiss this as paranoia. But he knew better. Gary was sensitive to magical energies. He could detect deviations from the norm. He was their pidgey in the coal mine.

"I know," Kai agreed. It couldn't be, could it? Soon Brock was picking up the abnormalities in the local energy as well.

It didn't take long for the reason to become clear. Blood red washed over the sky. The city started to panic. Tol'vir darted into their buildings and shut the doors. "Oh _shit!_" Gary pointed to the east. A silhouette flew toward the town, leaving fire in its wake. Deathwing was back.

The heroes darted into the nearest building, a butcher's shop, and rushed into the basement. "It's okay, it's okay," Misty assured herself. "The town is made of stone. At worst the goods and the awnings will be destroyed, and the trees, but everything else will be just fine. We're right next to a lake anyway, it's fine…"

"I _hate_ that infernal dragon!" Gary said.

There was a loud thud from above. A landing, or a tree falling over from the blast of air caused by Neltharion's wings? It was suddenly very hot in the building, and they heard fire crackling above. Was it safe to stay in the basement or should they leave? Tori whimpered quietly. "Shh, it's alright," Misty whispered to the whelp, rocking her gently. Nervous as it made them, they were almost used to having Deathwing cause problems for them. Unlike the Lich King, he was very personal in his reign of terror. Arthas, most of them hadn't seen, not until they were on his doorstep and ready to kill him. But Deathwing… he was everywhere, always turning up when it was least convenient.

They had no idea how long they remained down there. Minutes, hours? When they returned, the fires were mostly out – any goods that hadn't been taken into the basements were ruined, and the awnings were little more than burnt scraps on charcoaled support rods. Most of the plants were burned up into shriveled stems.

Quel'Delar's Chosen first made sure the town's residents were alright and helped to clean up some of the mess, but then they were off again when they realized Harrison, in his excitement, had left without them. Adarrah informed them.

"If you're looking for Harrison, he left a few minutes ago. He was going on and on about his latest discovery, and how everything was beginning to make sense. Whatever... He certainly wasn't making sense to me. I tried to convince him to stay here and just enjoy a few desert sunsets with me, but there's no talking to him when he gets that gleam in his eye. He was headed to that big monolith, south of here."

Brock looked south. "On the horizon? That spire?" Adarrah nodded. "Whew, that's a long way…"

XXX

As the heroes rode out toward the obelisk, the tension dissipated as the world returned to normal. They got to talking about their latest adventures.

"It's insane. This is reality, but it feels like a movie," Brock said, shaking his head. "Even Harrison is like an adventure film hero come to life."

"I'm fine with that!" the mage said. "It's like every one of my fantasies come true. I've always kinda wanted to be an adventurer-scientist – you know, like in _Johto Jones and the Temple of Houndoom…_"

Ash nodded. "_Raiders of the Lost Arcanine._ That was totally the best one."

"Eh, I dunno," Gary replied, "I think _Johto Jones and the Last Remoraid _could give it a run for its money."

The warrior shrugged. "Fair enough. That one was really good too."

"_Kingdom of the Crystal Duskull. _Discuss," Misty said.

Both boys cringed. "Oh, let's not even go there," Ash said.

"That's a can of worms I don't want to open," Gary agreed.

"Heh, remember the time – in that canyon with the fossils – when you dressed up like Johto Jones?"

Gary laughed. "Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that!"

"Well, I guess it's not pretend anymore, is it?" Misty said.

"No, it's not. And so far, it's every bit as awesome as I imagined."

XXX

The spiraling path up the plateau was a long one, but eventually they reached the top. A surprisingly modern base was set up around the obelisk. The technology was laughably primitive compared to Kanto standards, but far better than the Azerothean norm. There was even a lit runway for goblin fighter planes. Men in snappy brown uniforms were scattered throughout.

Doctor Jones was in a fistfight with one of them. "Do you need help?" Misty asked, as the heroes approached.

"No, I've got this one. Look, these guys are excavating relics from this site and taking pieces of ancient technology that we need! I need you to check their crates for pieces of an ancient activation device. The officers should have the codes you'll need to open them. Hurry! We can't let them load this stuff into their planes!"

"You sure you don't need help?" Starwisp asked.

"_Go._"

They did. They rampaged through the Schnottz base – what sort of name was Schnottz, anyway? – fighting the soldiers and getting the combinations to the locked boxes. The men were all wearing shell-helmets rather than the typical Azerothean knightly plate helms, and were equipped with bizarre guns – a mixture of a dwarven rifle and a machine gun. These soldiers seemed almost anachronistic, a blend of many centuries. But that was no matter; the important thing was stopping them from taking the machine parts. Gary found an interesting-looking book, _Efficient Excavations_, on one of them, but he put it in the storage plane – no time to bother with it now.

Jessie tried her best not to be distracted by all of the loot the Schnottz had gathered – gold coins piled up to her knees, statues of precious metal, gems the size of her head. Eventually she gave in. While the others were busy unlocking boxes and retrieving titan artifacts, she stuffed as much gold into the storage plane as she thought she could get away with.

The heroes had all the parts to the mechanism they needed. Quickly, they worked together to assemble it, and returned to Jones, just as he managed to take down the soldier he was fighting with. "Hurry now," he said, "another patrol will be through and they'll run for backup. Get into the plane."

"That rickety thing?" Starwisp asked, incredulous. She didn't trust that sort of machine.

"No, the helicopter I have in my pocket," Gary replied sarcastically.

Team Rocket instead got on Kai's back – the plane couldn't hold them all. The drake took flight as Harrison steered the fighter plane down the runway. As predicted, a new patrol came by.

"_Ghet Zhem!_"

"Too late for that," Ash said, grinning.

A few moments later, a bullet zipped by, missing them narrowly. "Uh…" Misty pointed to the other planes which were taking off in pursuit. Normally Kai would engage in aerial combat with any enemies who followed his friends, but he knew better than to attack these. A dragon with two people riding on his back was no match for machine gun equipped fighter planes. He dove down and flew low, trying to avoid attention or at least make it difficult to shoot at him.

Gary couldn't help but be reminded of the war movies his grandfather liked to watch. Taking his idea from there, he looked for a tailgun, and sure enough, there it was, mounted to the back of the plane. "_Go to hell!_" he shouted at the pursuing pilots. Then the machine gun started firing. "Whoa!" The mage was startled by the power of the gun. Bullets flew right back at him as the Schnottz pilots returned fire. "Yikes!" He crouched down and hid behind the machine gun. He certainly felt less brave and more afraid than he would have expected, as real war was hardly as glorious as on television, but he was used to fighting real war by now.

The others also crouched down. There was no cover for the cockpit of this plane, just a windshield as in a convertible car. It was not meant to fly very high. It was all the heroes could do to avoid making targets of themselves. Starwisp poked her head up slightly, just enough that she could aim, and slid her bow over the edge of the plane, keeping it close to avoid making her arm a target. Carefully, she pulled an arrow from her quiver, and shot it at full force at one of the Schnottz planes. The poorly-designed cockpit window shattered as the arrow went right through into the pilot's chest. The plane veered to the side and crashed into the desert below.

Gary let out a cry of pain as a bullet grazed his shoulder. It was a minor injury, just cutting into the edge of his arm, but it was still painful and bloody. He kept firing the machine gun. He managed to shoot one of them down, but the third plane was still harassing them with a hail of bullets. Misty healed her ally, still trying to avoid becoming a target.

Ash looked around in the plane – perfect! Some sort of missiles, complete with launching equipment. Though he had no idea what he was doing, the warrior leaned over to the side and tried to shoot the missile at the last plane. A bullet hit his shoulder and he winced in pain, but he managed to fire the rocket and it smashed into the wing of the enemy plane! It exploded beautifully and the Schnottz fighter plane spiraled down to the ground.

"Hold on tight, I'm not sure I know how to land this thing!" Harrison said. He brought the plane down onto the top of the massive dam that spanned the river, using it as a runway. The landing was rough, but safe. Kai landed nearby.

"Are you twerps alright?" Jessie asked, genuinely concerned after seeing the storm of bullets that the plane had endured.

"Talk about an adrenaline rush!" Gary said, climbing out of the plane. "That was fun. Also absolutely terrifying and I thought I might die, but still fun!"

"You have a very strange idea of fun," Ash said. "Misty, I took a bullet to the shoulder – can you heal me?" The paladin nodded.

"It's a lot easier to be brave and even enjoy what you're doing in the face of death if you always just remind yourself that if you do die, it'll be a really _awesome_ death. I mean, we're all gonna die someday, so you might as well do it spectacularly."

Misty laughed. "You have a very unique way of looking at the world."

"That's enough for one day, I think," Brock said.

XXX

Back at Ramkahen, the heroes relaxed and let the adrenaline wind down. The sun was setting – Adarrah was right, desert sunsets were incredible. The sky was brilliant pink and gold. Deathwing's destruction had only covered some parts of the region. He'd left others untouched. Though the plants were scorched in most of the city, a little ways away down the river the trees were still untouched.

The paladin and the mage rested under one of the palms, sitting on the soft sand not too far from the riverbank. As the sun set, the air cooled – still plenty warm, but not too hot. The paladin leaned against the tree, her knees in front of her. The mage lay in front of her, resting his head on her lap as they watched the incredible display.

"What a day…" he muttered. She laughed a bit and smiled, ruffled his hair, and quietly agreed. He laughed and returned the smile.


	48. Working for the Enemy

"What do you think of the Light?" Misty asked suddenly.

"Huh?" Gary was caught off guard. "What do you mean?" He lifted his head from her lap for a moment, turned, and looked at her questioningly.

"What is it, do you think?" The paladin looked into the horizon. "An entity? A force?"

"Um, isn't that your domain?" He relaxed again.

"I know. That's why I'm wondering. I claim to follow it and I'm not even really sure what it is…"

"Is anyone?"

Misty paused. "True enough, I guess. I've just heard… people talk about the will of the Light, but others say it's a non-theistic religion. Some people say the naaru are the Light, others that they're its servants… Even my mentors have given me conflicting information. I'm not sure what to think."

Gary shrugged as best he could while lying on the sand with his head on her lap. "I haven't given it much thought. I've never been particularly religiously-inclined. I've never really cared or believed one way or another, you know? I guess I have to acknowledge the existence of various gods and forces and things I never would have thought of before, cause… you know, I've seen solid proof of their existence, like you using the Light… but it really hasn't changed anything for me, beliefs-wise."

"I suppose not. It doesn't really affect your life like it does mine."

"Nope." The last sliver of orange sun was sliding down into the horizon as they paused again. "I guess I've always just thought of the Light as another form of magic. Somewhere between entity and energy. Not a being, but a force with something resembling what we'd call a will of its own. Like fire, or earth, or air, or any other elemental force. There is no fire-god or anything, though there's a leader for the elementals, but fire itself has no head force, no deity. The element still has a will though. Maybe it's just because I'm a mage and that's how I'm used to thinking, but I guess I always assumed the Light was similar."

"Hm. I always assumed it was a higher being, or collection of higher beings, but what you're saying makes sense. Or maybe it's both. Maybe there's a deity that is the Light and its will as well as the source of Light magic."

"Does it matter?" Gary asked. "You follow the moral tenets of the Light. Unless I'm horribly mistaken, the Church of the Light doesn't have, like so many other religions do, an origin story. It doesn't attempt to explain where the world came from, only how we should act, and what's right and wrong, am I correct?"

Misty nodded. "It's halfway between religion and plain old philosophy."

"So the moral code is essentially the majority of its teachings."

"Right."

"So does the rest of it really matter? We can't know everything. Best that the unimportant stuff is the part we don't know. If the Light is mostly a philosophical code, and you follow that, do you really need to know the exact nature of the source of your power? Who cares if it's a being or a willed force or just plain energy? The morals are the important part."

Misty smiled. The paladin put her hands on the mage's shoulders and smiled at him. "As usual, Gary, you're right. Thanks."

"Remind me, what exactly are the paladin's commandments again?"

"Tenacity, respect, compassion," she recited. Realization dawned on her. _That's what she was talking about,_ the girl thought.

"Check, check, and definitely check. You pass. Congratulations."

XXX

The heroes got up early, while the sun was still a sliver on the Eastern horizon. They wanted to get moving before the heat of day set in – though they'd be working through that as well, perhaps they would be working inside more ruins by then if they got the traveling done early.

At Gary's request, they were going to go down to the Schnottz base on the coast. There was a picture of a goblin on the inside cover of the book the mage had found – _Efficient Excavations _was the title. Clearly, that was the man in charge of the goons they'd fought at the obelisk.

The ride itself was difficult. Starwisp's tiger had little trouble, with its massive paws, but the horses kept sinking into the sand and sliding down the dunes. To make things worse, the wind picked up, causing a mild sandstorm, stinging everyone's eyes, burning their lungs, getting in their mouths. Everyone who had a cloak pulled the cloth up over their nose and mouth to keep the sand out, but all they could do about their eyes was squint. The sun was up by the time they could see (and smell) the ocean, and Gary did what he could with frost magic to make everyone as comfortable as possible in the heat.

Being able to see the camp not too far away was a blessing. Arrival was even sweeter. The buildings were shabby, little more than giant wooden boxes, hastily constructed, with hay strewn on the floor like a neglected old barn, without even doors to prevent sand getting inside, but they were shelters nonetheless. The cool sea-breeze helped, too. What appeared to be pirate ships – one even had a skull and crossbones flag – floated by the dock. All around were cranes and ramps and other supplies, and half-dug-up relics of every sort. Some of the better finds – those that would be archaeologically significant and actually reveal information about the lives of the ancient Tol'vir – were carelessly cast aside or even destroyed in favor of obvious treasures of gold and gems. All in all, it looked like what would happen if someone were to put Jessie and James in charge of an archaeological expedition.

The heroes stumbled into the building, coughing and trying to get the sand out of their hair and eyelashes. Tori had a sneezing fit. After they'd managed to become more aware of their surroundings, they looked at the strange blood elf who was staring at them curiously.

"Hi there," Ash said, in a poor attempt at a reasonable greeting. The blood elf was dressed in a white suit with a matching panama hat.

"We found a book from this place," Gary said.

"Oh look, it's one of little Schnottz's pamphlets. I'll be taking that from you, if you don't mind."

"Can we talk to the author?" Brock asked.

"The commander is quite busy now, I'm afraid. The demands of an operation such as this require much of his attention these days. While you wait to speak with him, why don't you mingle with some of our guests? We have invited a variety of Azeroth's most illustrious figures to be present when we unlock the secrets of this region. I am confident that you will find them most captivating."

Quel'Delar's Chosen looked at each other, then shrugged. "Alright, then," Jessie said.

Before they left, Kai said to the elf, "I think I've seen your picture somewhere. What's your name?"

"Belloc Brightblade."

"Archaeologist, right? For the Horde?"

Belloc smiled. "Ah, yes. I'm not offering courses at the moment, however."

"Oh, well." Starwisp gestured for Kai to come along, as the rest of the group waited, and he quickly followed after her. They moved to another group of buildings, arranged in a circle. This kept the sand storms from getting too bad.

The night elf got a few looks, as she was easily the tallest person in the camp, and the only one of her kind. James got a few strange glances for his hair, and Jessie a few more for hers, but that died down quickly.

"Guys, let's use this as an opportunity to get more information," Gary said quietly.

"Right," the others agreed.

The first person they met was a young stage actress, a very gorgeous blood elf with platinum blonde hair. She was wearing a very skintight black dress. Ash and Brock were both trying very hard – and failing – not to stare.

"Exquisite weather here, wouldn't you say?" she said.

"Uh, yeah! Great weather. How have you been enjoying your time here?" Ash said, grinning stupidly. Gary had to consciously stop himself from facepalming.

The elf carried on obliviously. There clearly wasn't much going on upstairs. "Oh, it's been wonderful! The commander is so confident, and _that accent!_ I must admit, he's quite captivating. Do you know if he's married?"

Gary decided to get the conversation back on a useful track. "Uh, I'm not sure. Anything else you can tell me about him or what he's doing out here?"

"Word has it that some of the relics in these parts hold mystical power! He seems to be fascinated with such things..."

"What do you think about the troops he's arming? Seems a little excessive, no?"

"I'm sorry, mage. I really don't know enough to discuss such things. And honestly, I would prefer to keep it that way." Gary thanked her, hiding his disappointment. _She's not kidding when she says she doesn't know enough. What an airhead._

He looked for someone who seemed more intelligent, and located a very refined-looking gentleman wearing a Gilnean suit, top hat, and monocle. He was sitting with as much poise as possible on a wooden crate under a makeshift umbrella, sipping tea. "Good day, sir!" the mage attempted to approach him with cultured dignity.

"I say!" the man replied in a very strong accent. "Take in the sights here, eh? This entire region has been hidden away for ages, you know. Splendid find. Care for a spot, my friend?" The man gestured to a teapot.

"No thank you, we just rode across the desert. Hot tea doesn't sound very nice right now. What do you think of our most generous host, sir?" the paladin said.

"Why, just look at the treasure he has accumulated! I'm not always comfortable with his methods, but there's no denying the results... Best not to dwell upon unpleasant thoughts. It's bad manners, you know. Simply atrocious."

"Hmmm, well what is it that brings you to these parts?" the shaman asked.

"Speculation, my dear boy! Once our eager little furrier has unearthed enough treasure, he'll be one of Azeroth's most influential figures. We'll all be properly positioned when that comes to pass."

"Well, thank you sir. Have a nice day."

Jessie went to talk to a young high elf man who was painting a lovely picture of the desert sunrise. He turned to smile at her with bright-eyed innocence. "Now, isn't this the place to be? Touring unexplored corners of the world with likeminded fellows? What could be better?"

"Of course!" the warlock replied. "And what do you think of the Commander?"

The elf paused. "Hm, he's a bit animated for my tastes, but the world needs all kinds, I suppose. Why do you ask?"

"His troops, these guards... It all seems a little intense."

"I see what you mean, I suppose... You know, I'm just here because I want to expand my horizons a bit, see the world and whatnot. I'm not terribly concerned with the goings on of others. Nice to meet you, though."

Ash got no information at all out of a young writer he met; a woman with blond hair longer than Starwisp's and blue eyes. She said she was only documenting what was going on and didn't have anything to tell him besides what he already knew.

Gary went into one of the buildings – one person caught his eye. This was clearly a man of some importance. Perhaps he knew something. Kai followed the mage in, but his attention was focused elsewhere. At the other doorway was a muscular, sinister looking man with dark skin and long, straight black hair. He wore a black cloth wrapped around his waist that hung down like some sort of kilt or skirt, down to his ankles, and a pair of black bracers, but that was all. He glared at Kai suspiciously, and the boy returned the suspicious stare.

"This is quite an operation here, wouldn't you say?" the grey-haired ambassador said to Gary.

"Quite an operation indeed. What do you think of our host?" The mage spoke somewhat quietly, having recognized the warning glance he got from Kai. He knew that the dragon was telling him to be on his guard.

"I must admit, I am intrigued by this ambitious little upstart. I'm not rushing to judgment, mind you, but I've heard some unsettling rumors. Time will tell if his motives are just." The dark man at the entrance stood completely still, just as before, but was watching out of the corner of his eye, and listening as well.

"I've encountered some of his underlings out in the field. They've been quite… hostile."

"I'm not surprised. So many questions I cannot ignore... Why all these weapons for an archaeological dig? And what is being done with the unearthed relics? Under what authority is this excavation being conducted? The answers don't seem to be forthcoming; I'll just have to find out for myself, I suppose."

"I guess so." Another warning glance from Kai. Gary decided to pad the conversation with meaningless chatter to make it less obvious that this was all the information he came for. "What do you think of that starlet, eh? She's something isn't she?" _Oh, please, please do not let Misty walk in and hear this. I'll be buying her flowers for a week._

"Indeed!" the ambassador replied. He lowered his voice. "Not too bright, though, is she?"

Gary shook his head. "People with eyes that blank rarely are. But at least she's a _nice_ dimwit."

Misty poked her head in the doorway. "Come on, Gary." She was going to continue, telling him that they could meet with the commander, when she noticed the look Kai was giving her. She decided it was best not to say anything more.

"Well, it's been nice talking to you. Gotta go." The mage left with Kai in tow. _Phew, if she'd been a couple moments earlier… Close call._

The heroes walked back to the commander's building. On the way, they quietly discussed what they'd found. Kai warned them to keep an eye on the dark-skinned mercenaries, but didn't say why. He said only that he had his suspicions and would share them if he found more evidence to back them up. The boy didn't want to create unnecessary panic.

The commander was a very small goblin named Schnottz. It was from him that the whole operation got its name. He had a nose ring which the others mistook at first glance for a small mustache.

"So, you are zhe Qvel'Delar's Chosen I've heard so much about, hmm? Ven zhe time comes to restore zhe obelisks, vhill you be zhere? Vill history remember you for anyzink you do outside of Northrend? Zhat depends on your villingness to cooperate! Zhere is much to be done in zhis region. Ve bozh haf a burning passion for zhe ancient technologies here, do ve not? I know zhat you haf vorked viht Doctor Jones, an enemy of mine, vonce…" The heroes tried not to let the collective thoughts of 'oh crap' show on their faces. Schnottz continued, "but perhaps zhere is a vay for us to vork togezher now? Let us put zhe misunderstandinks of zhe past behind us, hmm?"

"Of course, sir," Misty said. She forced a smile, trying to look too cute and innocent to be mistrusted.

"Now, zhere is an elusive animal in zhe region to zhe east zhat I have been huntink. It is a fox vit a fine coat. Brink me zhis creature as a token of your sincerity, hmm? Zhen maybe I let you in on my operation..."

"Will do, sir," Ash said.

As they went to leave, Belloc gestured for them to come over. "The commander can be most generous to those who demonstrate their loyalty, and I know of something that you can do to curry favor with him. Before building up his... eh... workforce, he dealt in the furs of animals. He is quite skilled in the art of leatherworking. The furrier can do wonders with even the most tattered pelts. The dried oasis to the east is said to be home to a rare breed of coyote. Their furs would make a very thoughtful gift."

"Thanks for the tip, Belloc," Kai said.


	49. Operation Valkyr

The dried up oasis was a startling sight. The palms were brown and dead, the soil cracked from a lack of water. Animal bones were strewn about. The only living creatures were the coyotes and the scrawny buzzards. Starwisp smiled. "Why don't you all just rest over here? This is clearly a huntress's job." Indeed, it looked like quite the hunting ground. Plenty of objects to hide behind, challenging terrain. She could enjoy this. The night elf readied her bow. "Ready to go hunting, Aeroth?"

"This should be interesting," Brock said, sitting on a fallen palm trunk under the shade of a dead tree at the edge of the dried oasis.

The elf stealthily moved toward her first target. Its ears perked at the sound of rustling leaves, but it didn't notice the faintly glowing eyes within the bush. She carefully pulled an arrow out of the quiver, drew it back, and slowly placed the tip of the arrow in an opening between branches. She waited for the coyote to move slightly, to line up. The tension grew as the animal padded forward a couple inches. Perfect. The arrow flew, hit its mark! The coyote never knew what hit it. Starwisp abandoned her cover and removed the arrow from the canine's head. She then got out her skinning knife – she wasn't the best leatherworker in the world, but she could get a quality pelt off almost anything. Indeed, that had been one of her family's best sources of income before her father's work as a scribe really got off the ground. Now her skills were coming in handy again. She also carved out some meat while she was at it. She'd never eaten coyote before, but she'd had wolf meat, and assumed it was fairly similar. Aeroth circled above her, fending off buzzards. They could eat their fill when she'd taken the pelt and meat.

Soon, she resumed the hunt. She followed the crusty tracks in the dried earth, but found something much better than a coyote. There was the fox she'd been sent to find, drinking out of a very small pool of water. She pulled an arrow out of her quiver and prepared a tranquilizing shot. Taking careful aim, she shot at low force. The fox darted into the underbrush. Aeroth swooped after it, tracking it through the bushes until it collapsed. The elf followed her quarry and retrieved the unconscious creature. She muzzled it and tied it to a tree.

"Well done!" the others applauded her.

"I still have more pelts to retrieve."

XXX

Schnottz decided he could trust the adventurers. "Zhere is somezhink I need handled. My most trusted advisor has run afoul of an ancient curse. A hex zhat has transformed zhe man into a turkey, of all zhings! I haff studied for days to discover a remedy for his condition, and finally I am ready to conduct the ritual. I vill require seveal idols from zhe nearby ruins. You are to bring zhem to me at vonce! Dismissed!"

Belloc, once again, gave his own task. "We have a strict policy among our ranks, one that we take most seriously. Our troops are to dress in official uniform at all times. This helps with organization, friendly fire incidents are reduced, and it keeps the troops looking wonderful! We call it, Fashionism. We've been running low on uniforms lately. I must ask that you recover from the troopers that have fallen in the line of duty. You should find plenty of the poor fellows east of here at the Ruins of Ammon. If you're heading that way already, you might as well pick them up."

The heroes did as they were asked. It was rather uneventful, aside from the creepiest sensation that the ruins were haunted. James swore he felt dark magic, and Jessie claimed to have seen a skeletal hand reach up through the sand for a moment, but nothing of particular interest happened. Nobody wanted to wonder why there were so many dead soldiers there.

XXX

"At last! Zhe time has come to set my Gobbles free of zhat nasty curse! Pay attention now, and stay on guard. Zhere can be no interruptions vhile I perform zhe ritual. Let me know vhen you haf secured zhe perimeter!"

A quick patrol later, and the heroes told him the perimeter was secure.

"Very vell, zhen. Let me just check my notes vone lasht time... Mmm-hmm, yes, yes... simple enough..." the goblin muttered, skimming the book.

Belloc drew a simple rune circle on the ground in chalk. Gary raised an eyebrow at the methods used, but decided to go with it. Schnottz put the eight small statues of black jackals in a circle. "Gobbles! Ve're ready to begin!" A turkey ran into the room. The adventurers had to bite their lips to keep from laughing. The turkey stood in the center of the circle as Schnottz and Belloc began to channel a spell. Unexpectedly, the turkey then exploded.

Everyone stood still, stunned into silence.

"Poor Gobbles! Vhat could haf possibly gone wrong? I followed every last detail..." Schnottz went to his book and looked through the notes again. He went pale, suddenly looking over his shoulder at the idols, then back at the book. He jumped up and down in a fit of anger, screaming at the adventurers. "You only brought me eight idols! Zhe ritual specifically calls for nine! Nine! _Nine! __**Nine! **__**Nine!**_ Out of my sight, vizh you!"

Quel'Delar's Chosen left the building very quickly.

Once Schnottz had calmed down, the heroes were able to talk to him again. "Gobbles vill be sorely missed, but zhe mission must not suffer. Perhaps zhere is somezhink you can do to redeem yourself. Lately, my vorkers' morale has been a bit lackink. Some of zhem are refusing to perform zheir labors. Auch, zhe audacity! Find zhese lazy imbeciles and convince zhem zhat zhey must get to vork... or else!"

XXX

The Gilnean druid returned from bird to human form. She had a very important message to deliver. She found the intended recipient and said quietly, "The Gray Rose has pushed through the Fence. Make sure you let the Dogs out so the Gardener doesn't clip it. On that note, would you like a cup of Tea? _Tea is Splendid_."

"Of course. I'll be sure to let the Dogs out into the Yard."

XXX

As Quel'Delar's Chosen returned to the commander, they noticed Belloc pacing nervously. He hurried over to them.

"There is a delicate situation that calls for the... objective discretion of an outsider. You see, an unfortunate incident has upset some of our guests. Rest assured, our top men are sorting out the details. In the meantime, it would be wonderful if you could calm some of our more squeamish visitors. Handle this well, and the furrier is sure to hear of it!"

The adventurers exchanged glances. They silently returned to the circle of buildings where they'd waited earlier. The guests were gathered around, cowering, crying. As the heroes got closer, they saw why. The ambassador Gary had spoken to was lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood.

Brock went to comfort the young woman who was crying nearby. Even more than the gory scene before him, seeing this sheltered lady in such a state distressed him greatly. He moved to touch her shoulder reassuringly.

"Don't - don't touch me... What's happening?" She was in an utter panic.

"Just calm down. Are you alright?"

"No! Of course I'm not alright! I-I've never seen an actual corpse before..."

"Did you see what happened?"

"He just came stumbling out of the bunker. I screamed for help, but the guards wouldn't even look at me!"

"Maybe you should go lie down for a little while…"

"Yes. That sounds like a good idea." He led her to the building with the beds and made sure she found her way to one in her disoriented state before returning to figure out what in hell was happening.

Jessie was questioning a businessman.

"How unfortunate! Let's get this cleaned up, shall we? Wouldn't want to make any more of this than needs be..." he said.

"Don't you want to know what happened to the man?" Even the warlock was shocked by his nonchalant reaction.

"I'm curious, of course, but what's done is done. We wouldn't want to stir up any unnecessary panic. That simply wouldn't be prudent!"

"Your only concern here is your stake in this operation?" It took a lot to offend Jessie on a moral level, but this did it.

"Certainly not! I mean, I do have my entire fortune at risk here... and honestly, what good would a public crisis do anyone?" The warlock just stared slack-jawed and shook her head in disbelief.

The writer Ash had met earlier was simply staring at the gore with her hand over her mouth and nose. She looked fairly collected and calm, but something about her stance suggested that she would break down shortly after the chaos had died down.

"Good god," she muttered.

"Who could have done such a thing?" the warrior asked.

"Who knows? He was becoming quite critical of this operation, but that's not proof of anything."

"Will you investigate the murder?"

"Who, me? Why, I'd hardly consider myself qualified to, uh... No, I should think not. I'd only ruin the evidence."

"Well, you _will_ at least write about it, won't you?"

"Wh-what? Well, I... It would make for a most troubling story, you know. But… uh... well, it will certainly be in my memoirs. Can't say I want to write about it just yet; I don't want to meet that same fate."

Kai's eyes were narrowed as he looked at the corpse. Through the torn clothes, he could see rows of tooth marks in the man's flesh, which seemed to be seared, even charred in places. "_I knew it…_"

Misty attempted to comfort the elf who had been painting earlier. The painting was ruined by spattered blood. "What's happening out here! Did you see the man's wounds? What kind of monster _does _that?" the elf asked in horror.

Kai spoke quietly to Gary. "I think I know…"

"Just take a deep breath. Did you see anything?" Misty asked, putting her hands on his shoulders. She had to remain professionally calm.

"No, but I don't need to have seen it to know that we're all going to_ die_! Do you hear me?" The elf was completely distraught.

"We are _not_ all going to die! Just relax... Panicking will only make it worse."

"Easy for you to say! I'm not cut out for this! I need to find a way out of here!"

"_Calm. Down!_" the paladin repeated.

"Remember that mercenary?" Kai muttered.

"Yeah… the creepy muscular guy in the black skirt. You think…?" Gary raised an eyebrow. He'd started to suspect it too. The dragon boy nodded.

"Alright, everybody clear out. Go inside, calm down. The guards will deal with this," James said. The guests quickly went into their building. The adventurers returned to Schnottz. They were about to speak with him when they were interrupted.

A goblin bodyguard shouted "Zhey're killink everyone up in he'ah!"

"What are you talking about, goblin? Speak!" Belloc yelled back.

"Zhe shtatues! Zhey're aliiive! Zhey're runnink around killink everyzhink!"

"What are you waiting for! Get out there and stop them!"

Schnottz cleared his throat. "It vould appear zhat another opportunity has arisen for you to redeem yourselves. Zhis little emergency has set me back a few tank gunners. You zhink you have vhat it takes to fill in for vone of zhem? My tanks are just vest of zhe camp. Get out zhere and put an end to zhis silliness!"

"We've done this before," Gary said. "We can do it again."

Weary from the day's work, Quel'Delar's Chosen got into the tanks and took a good look at their opponents. The giant statues, much like the ones in the chamber under the obelisk, that the Schnottz workers had been digging up, had somehow come to life and were wreaking havoc. Ash was the first to attack. _A few good cannon shots should be enough to take them down._

With the whole group firing their cannons, the menace was quickly put down. Just as quickly, it became apparent that this was merely a distraction. The heroes returned the tanks to their parking places and went back to the building. They were not very far away when the entire structure burst into a massive fireball. The adventurers let out startled yelps!

Misty caught sight of a figure cloaked from head to toe in black running from the scene before the mysterious person disappeared over a sand dune.

Schnottz stumbled out of the bunker, coughing. "Auch! If I vere a few inches taller, I vould be dead! Okay, zhis just got real!" He stood there, panting for a moment, before looking up at the shocked adventurers. "Somevone zhinks zhat zhey can get rid of me zhat easily, hmm? Ve shall see about zhat! Nozhink can shtop zhis vork! Nozhink!" He paused. "Ve should move."

The heroes accompanied Schnottz to another bunker. He ranted as he went. The adventurers were getting quite tired of putting up with him.

"Zhis is an outrage! You take a group of miserable bandits, make them part of somethink historical, and zhis is vhat you get? I am goink find out who is behind zhis treachery, and you are goink to help me! Zhis vork is bigger than you or me... Bigger zhan anyvone knows! Zhese vould-be assassins don't know who zhey are meddling vizh! Soon, zhey shall learn.. and vhen zhey do, zhey will tremble!"

He lowered his voice. "Zhat buildink did not explode by itself. Somevone is tryink to do me in, and you von't rest until I find out who! Shtah vizh zhe guests. Vizit vizh zhem, observe zheir demeanor, and zhen report back to me. If zhey know anythink at all, I vill haff zhem interrogated! Dismissed!"

The guests, of course, knew nothing. Misty was certain that the cloaked figure was responsible, but she decided it was best not to mention it. To keep appearances, though, her group asked the guests anyway.

"Please, we need your help!" the writer begged. "We're being kept in this building against our will. And with the commander on such a tirade, there's no telling what he might do to us! Perhaps if you were to secure some uniforms for us, we could sneak away. We never should have come here. I see that now. If you help us escape, I will write the _truth _of what has happened here. The men on those ships are all dressed in the uniforms we need."

Quel'Delar's Chosen reported back to the commander. "They saw nothing, they heard nothing, they know nothing," Gary said.

"I haf eyes and ears in every corner of this region, human," the goblin said, a gleam in his eye. _You have bats in your belfry, too,_ Gary thought. "I haf heard the murmurings zhat go on amonkst my troops. I haf been most tolerant of zhis pathetic behavior - until now! I vill send zhe message to everyvone in my ranks, zhat dissension vill not be tolerated! You are to exterminate zhe captains aboard my ships in dock. Zhey haf been amonk zhe most disgruntled. Vhen zhis has been done, I vill monitor zhe communications and determine vhat to do next. Dismissed!"

XXX

"Alright, just act natural, like you do this all the time," the writer said. The heroes had killed two birds with one stone by retrieving the uniforms from the captains and pirates they'd been told to kill. Kai delivered the uniforms while the others went back to Schnottz. It proved to be a very wise decision.

"Come out back vizh me. Zhere is somezhink I vould like you to see." Schnottz led the adventurers outside, away, toward a sand dune. Gary realized they were in a very bad situation as soon as he saw the dark mercenaries following them.

"Did you really zhink you vould get avay vizh it? Hmm? First, you come traipsing into Uldum as if you owned zhe place, clumsily interferink vizh my operation... Zhen you mercilessly kill my loyal vorkers..."

"But you tol-" Brock protested.

"_No but! _Silence! Keep Movink! …Zhen, on top of everyzhink, you nearly take my life... _Me!_ You vill pay. Line up!" The heroes didn't really have a choice. Misty glanced over at Gary. She could see by the look in his eyes how frantically he was trying to come up with a way out without getting shot up, how the thoughts were racing through his mind. "_Deazh by firink sqvad!_" Schnottz lowered his gun. "You are fortunate zhat I am too busy to make you suffer as you deserve. I can take it from here, my friends. Report to your master zhat zhe problem has been dealt viht. Tell him zhat zhere vill be no furzher interruptions."

The mercenaries who had been surrounding them confirmed the heroes' suspicions. They turned into massive black dragons. "Be certain that there aren't, Schnottz. Deathwing's patience wears thin," one of them growled. They then took off and flew away.

"Now, zhen, vhere vere we? Ahh, yes. Any last vords? Hmm?"

"_You're not the only one with dragon allies, Schnottz._" Quel'Delar's Chosen looked up. Schnottz turned. There, on the crane above them, hunched a black drake, with a familiar human on its back. Kai launched himself from the crane and dove straight toward the goblin, claws outstretched. Schnottz leapt out of the way, but Harrison Jones managed to land a nasty blow with his whip. The goblin lost his grip on the gun, which Ash immediately grabbed and pointed at him.

"Beat it!" Kai growled. Schnottz was already fleeing.

"You haven't seen zhe last of me, Doctor Jones!"

There was a long silence. "Thanks," Brock muttered.

Jones got off of Kai's back. "No problem. Look, let's cut straight to the chase. I knew that these obelisks were linked to the Coffer of Promise, but there's more to it. There appears to be something very important about the coffer – something pertaining to a place the Titans called the Halls of Origination. Now that we know this Schnottz fellow and his crew are in league with Deathwing, it's all the more urgent that we get to it first. Unfortunately, there's not a whole lot more we can do today. Let's head north, to the Oasis of Vir'sar."

XXX

The oasis was nice enough. Sandy, lush, and the water was beautiful. There was already a small camp there, where Harrison's friends were staying. They even had a spit and fire. Starwisp took advantage of this. "No conjured bread tonight. We're having coyote."

"Coyote?" The others were a bit confused, but they decided to at least give it a try.

"Sure. I'm certain I can make it taste decent. My father is an herbalist and a great cook. He taught me a thing or two." She took the meat she'd gathered earlier from the plane of storage along with a bag of prepared herbs. "Hm, a little silverleaf, crushed golden sansam leaves, mageroyal seeds… That should do."


	50. Unexpected Reunion

The adventurers met some of Harrison's friends over their dinner that night, including Sullah, a friendly man in a white robe and a turban, who said he could tell they were going to be great friends. He put up some extra hammocks for them to stay in for the night, and they were quite grateful.

That night, Gary dreamed about the pendants again. A woman's voice told him to heed their wisdom. Again, he dreamed about the Dragon Soul with them, and this time, the five original Aspects. The dream was not very informative, mixed in with miscellaneous imagery, but the pendants were the center of it all. At least it was not a nightmare; he got plenty of rest.

Naturally, upon waking, he was curious. He looked at his flame pendant more carefully and noticed something he hadn't before. It was faint, worn down, but there was writing on the back. The mage, still half-asleep, recognized it as draconic, but it was very, very _old_ draconic. During breakfast, he showed it to Kai and asked the others if he could look at theirs as well. The drake agreed to help him translate it.

Immediately after they'd finished eating, the two of them began to obsess over the engravings on the necklaces, the dragon puzzled by the changes that had occurred in the language since the time of the pendants' crafting and the words that had fallen out of use, the mage jotting things down on a sheet of parchment.

"We'd best get going," Brock said. Harrison shook his head.

"Not yet. I still need to handle a few things."

"Why don't you come with me, then?" Sullah asked.

"That sounds like a good idea, Sullah," Jones agreed. "Give them something to keep them occupied. Can't have them just pacing around impatiently out here."

"You're all so tense and this adventure has you in knots. I know plenty about relaxing, though. Speaking of tents, I see Jonesy brought the ones I asked for. Come, ride with me, friends!" He gestured to the kodo-drawn wagon.

"I'm gonna stay here with Gary. We're busy right now," Kai said.

"Alright," Starwisp said. She saw something out of the corner of her eye. "Aeroth, get out of there!" She waved her owl off the pot of jerky and replaced the lid, which had fallen off. The bird tried to take flight but instead caught his toe on the edge of another nearby pot and flopped down into the sand. He hopped about, puffing up and spreading his wings to get the sand out, before flapping awkwardly up onto Ash's shoulder, nearly shoving pikachu off in the process. "Stupid bird…"

The adventurers all got into the cart. Harrison trusted this man, and was close friends with him. They had no reason to be suspicious of him. Sullah loaded the folded tents into the back with the adventurers and got onto the front. He tugged the reins and the kodo got to its feet, shook the sand from its scaly yellow skin, and started to lumber along. "What a beautiful land this is, wouldn't you say? The sights, the sounds, the smells... Uldum is full of treasures, my friends. Some are easy for even simple men to discern, while others require wisdom to see." Brock nodded approvingly at Sullah's words. "I can see that Uldum will one day transform from a dangerous wilderness to a tourist magnet! People will come from all over Azeroth to marvel at her wonders." Misty frowned as she looked around at the valley they were traveling through. There was a massive mountain fortress on one side, and in the middle was the Vir'naal River. Crocolisks swam amongst reeds and lily pads, and palm trees grew lush and thick around the shores, amongst verdant undergrowth. Perhaps it was better if Uldum didn't become a tourist trap. She felt that it was better as a mysterious wilderness, but she didn't say anything. It was just her opinion. "I plan on creating a wonder of my own for them to behold... And I invite you to take part in its creation. Believe me when I tell you, you're in on the ground floor of something big."

The kodo came to a stop at a small camp. Sullah set up the extra tents, glistening white. The existing tents had rugs at the bottom and were filled with everything from exotic trinkets to cages with monkeys or chickens in them. There was even a snake. A few men in turbans worked here and there.

"Now, I have some things for you to do, if you'd like to help." The adventurers waited for instructions. "One thing about me that you might not know: I come from a long line of trappers. My father taught me, as his taught him, to master the art of trapping creatures. As any master trapper will tell you, the most important ingredient in an effective trap is the bait. So let's start there. Fill this bucket with the meat scraps from almost any wild creature in Uldum."

"Hunting is what I do best," the night elf said, taking the bucket. "Is that all?"

"No, actually. Camels are good to have in hand regardless, but when putting together a performance the likes of my sideshow, they are an absolute must! I have some harnesses, but you'll need to get the camels for me. Also, I have some empty cages. Some see the little sand pygmy as nothing more than a pest, vermin, or worse yet, a vile little demon. I say they are simply misunderstood! With the proper care and guidance, these little fellows may just turn out to be a glorious gift of nature. I would like you to take these cages and use them to capture a few of them for me to work with. You will need to give them a sound beating before boxing them up, but in the end it will be for their own good. You'll see! Go south for pygmies!"

"Don't you see anything wrong with that?" Misty asked. She was starting to dislike this man. Sullah just looked confused.

"I am helping them!" the man said. He really hadn't meant to upset the girl. He meant well, she supposed. The idea of enslaving a humanoid creature and locking it in a cage didn't agree with her. She could make an exception for Brylith, because she was a demon, even if she didn't seem exceptionally evil. Then the paladin began to wonder why she had no problem with the capture of pokemon. _Well, these pygmies don't want to be captured… But neither do some pokemon. On the other hand, pokemon enjoy battling, and are comfortable in their pokeballs._ She remembered pikachu. _Most of the time. And we respect pokemon as living, sentient creatures… we see them as friends, not animated objects meant for our amusement… don't we?_ She was naturally quite shaken at this sudden realization that a fundamental part of her life and a core part of her morality were quite probably in deep conflict. There was a problem there: the concept of beating a pygmy to within inches of its life despite protests in its native language, stuffing it into a small container, and forcing it to abandon its home to perform tasks for humans disturbed her, but the idea of doing the same to a pokemon – her own pokemon, who she held so close! – had never struck her as morally questionable until this moment.

"… Are you alright?" Brock asked. Misty looked pale. She felt sick to her stomach and terribly depressed.

"You need some shade and some water." Sullah guided her with a hand on her shoulder over to the nearest open-front tent. She sat down next to a sleeping hen and leaned against a crate. She needed some time to reevaluate what she'd long taken for granted. This could change the course of her life; it needed to be resolved immediately.

XXX

Gary had two of the pendants' inscriptions translated. His own read '_The hottest flames burn blue'_ and Misty's read '_Water is the source of all life_". Kai squinted at Ash's pendant, trying to make out the faint runes. The mage suggested that one looked similar to a dwarven letter, and the dragon boy nodded. They'd decipher it eventually.

XXX

After the paladin had recovered from her mental-emotional shut-down, the heroes split up. Team Rocket, of course, went after the pygmies. Misty still felt a bit ill at the idea, and went to go tame camels with Brock instead. Ash tagged along with Starwisp as the elf went hunting. He still wasn't much of a shot with a bow, but she felt she could teach him a thing or two._ Maybe_, she thought,_ even a bit of track reading_, when they came upon what looked like coyote tracks at the edge of a pond, although they were much bigger than any coyote the elf had ever seen.

XXX

'_Even solid stone bends to time_' was the inscription on Brock's pendant. '_To dream is to reach for the sky_' was Ash's. Gary and Kai high fived, proud to have accomplished this challenging task and unraveled another part of the mystery. But what did they mean?

XXX

"Splendid! This is shaping up much better than I could have dared to dream. Thank you very much, my friends," Sullah said. "It's been such a pleasure to work with you, but you may want to make your way back to Jonesy when you get a moment. Chances are, whatever he's got to talk to you about is more pressing than anything I have for you to do."

Quel'Delar's Chosen returned to the camp, arriving just as Harrison came out of his tent. "Good timing," he said. Gary returned the necklaces to their owners and told them what the inscriptions on the back meant. Then, Harrison got their attention again. It was time to go back to the urgent matter at hand. "Alright, kids, here's what I've learned. There's a titan device deep in a place called the Halls of Origination. It's meant to be an emergency reset switch for all life on Azeroth. It's far more powerful than I'd realized. If activated, it will destroy _every living thing in the world!_ Now, it's only meant to be used under certain extreme conditions, but if Deathwing is able to corrupt the titan watchers, he could use the contents of the coffer to trigger the device. We need to slow them down so we can activate and control the obelisks – and gain control of the Halls of Origination – before they do. There are just a few specific pieces of information that I'm missing. Once those blanks are filled, we'll be ready to activate the final obelisk. Then, it'll be a race to discover the Coffer of Promise before Schnottz and his cronies can. Those fools are excavating this site as fast as they can. They're ruining more than they're looting! Go to the obelisk and rummage through their booty. See if you can find our missing pieces."

Off they went, heading around the giant mountain fortress to the front, where a V-shaped aqueduct with low water level stopped them from going any further until Kai took his drake form to push down and drag a palm tree over to use as a bridge. He ripped at it with his claws until the surface was flat enough to walk on, rolled it over, and did the same for the ends, so it would rest securely across the channel.

While he did so, the others examined the front of the temple. In the center of the triangular courtyard in front was the Obelisk of the Moon. Red lights marked runways for Schnottz planes, which occasionally took off and flew away. Tents were arranged in little groups, and soldiers patrolled. Kai soon shoved the palm tree into place and the raiders crossed onto the sandstone tiles. The drake returned to his human form, but something caught his attention. He cursed quietly. The trainers let their pokemon out – Misty made sure to hug her vaporeon to let her know how appreciated she was. The boy had seen another black dragon. This one, though in human form, made no effort to conceal his identity. The black-skinned man left flames and smoke in his wake, and his hands were blazing constantly. Kai recognized immediately that this was a very ancient and powerful wyrm. "Don't cross him," he warned.

Absol growled, the fur on his neck standing up. "Halt!" a soldier said. He pointed his gun at them – pikachu shocked him to death quickly, before he could shoot.

"This could get difficult. We're fighting people with guns far more powerful than any others in Azeroth, and all we have are swords, spells, and bows," Gary muttered.

"Yes, the machine guns do tip things in their favor," the warrior agreed. "But it all depends on who strikes first and who misses, if anyone. A gun and a sword are pretty evenly balanced in that respect – it all boils down to who gets to strike first."

"Yeah," Misty said, "but usually the gun goes first because a warrior has to approach his target, and a gunman doesn't."

"Neither does a spellmaster. Let's get on with it," Brock said. "I'll be a backup healer for Misty, if it makes you feel better. Their guns don't seem too accurate, so the likelihood of an instant kill is fairly low. All the other wounds guns inflict, no matter how great, are meaningless when you factor magic healing in."

Meowth had gotten tired of hearing the humans talk and went off on his own to snipe soldiers with arrows. Jessie simply announced that she agreed with the cat's wordless decision and began her attack as well. The others were forced to come along whether they were ready or not. When they all struck at once, they were quite effective, catching the Schnottz goons off guard. They cleared one of the tent groups and began ransacking the place. James discovered a bunch of scrolls with diagrams of the obelisk and assumed that was what was needed.

The next group of tents went down even quicker, with Aeroth circling above to distract the soldiers with his loud and obnoxious hooting and flapping. The soldiers tried to shoot him down, but missed. One let out a strangled scream as the absol's teeth sank into the side of his neck and throat. Fireballs, arrows, shadowbolts, and the like were not far behind. One of the soldiers managed to shoot Ash three times, none of the bullets hitting immediately vital organs. Healing could and did save the warrior, who put his swords through the soldier's lungs and heart. The adventurers looted this place too, and found a few more scrolls. That would be enough.

Kai started shoving at Starwisp's shoulder. "Hurry, we should go! He's coming!" The great wyrm was on his way. Quel'Delar's Chosen heeded the drake's warning and retreated. As they ran away, they heard him sound the alarm. Brock glanced over his shoulder. Myzerian had taken his real form as a truly gigantic black dragon and was taking to the sky. Officers in dark grey uniforms came rushing out of the temple that was carved directly into the mountain. Their guns looked even more dangerous than the ones owned by the regular, brown-uniformed soldiers, and they looked much better trained.

They reported to Harrison, who seemed as impressed as he was troubled. "Wow! It sounds like you really got their attention, kids. We're never getting in there with them on alert like this. There must be a way... It's just a matter of time before Schnottz's men activate the obelisk and I need to research the scrolls you found. I need you to figure this one out without me. Sullah has connections in these parts. Maybe he has a solution for getting us inside."

The heroes summoned their mounts and rode back to Sullah. He smiled at their request for help. "It is good to have friends! While kindness is its own reward, there can be tangible benefits too! A friend of mine recently intercepted a shipment of Schnottz's plunder and is bringing it here as we speak. He's a fine young man, about your age. Most pleasant rogue I've ever met. His note was vague, but he says there are some really impressive things in that loot, including some titan technology. Perhaps he can help you. It shouldn't take him much longer to get here."

"Well, I should hope so. This rogue of yours had better have something for us; the world's in danger," Starwisp said.

They did not have to wait long. A figure cloaked in black from head to toe approached from the desert. They couldn't see his face, as he was not only wearing a hood, but a bandana bandit mask. He had something slung over his shoulder. As he approached, they could also see that some long black hair peaked over a headband and poked out from under the hood. Misty had a feeling that this was the man she'd seen running from Schnottz's Landing after the attempt on the commander's life.

The rogue paused, then continued toward them, at a quicker pace, as though excited by the presence of Quel'Delar's Chosen.

"Ash, Misty, Brock! I didn't even recognize you in your adventuring gear! How are you? It's great to see you again!" Even though they knew him by his voice, he figured he should probably take the mask off. Tracey lowered the hood and the bandit mask, revealing a smile.

"Tracey! Imagine seeing you here!" Misty said cheerfully. The cheer was at least partially false. First, something was _wrong_ about the smile. It was like he was trying to hide something in his mouth – in fact, Misty figured he probably was. Rogues had all sorts of nasty hidden weapons in their arsenal – poison, hidden blades, explosive potions. They could be hidden almost anywhere. It was practically impossible to remove all the weapons from a properly prepared rogue. She didn't want to think about it. Second, the _idea itself_ seemed to break something in the girl. Tracey was really the last one of her friends she could truly think of as innocent – not exposed to the horror of war. So much for that. It was _jarring_ to her to think of Tracey – gentle, sweet-natured Tracey! – as a _cold blooded assassin_. She could handle her other friends, as she'd seen their transformation, slow and gradual, but this was sudden, and she _didn't like it._ On the other hand, she _was_ glad to see him.

"Don't you look impressive!" Ash said. "Been killing Schnottz goons?"

"Yep…" The rogue didn't look too thrilled about it. That made things a little easier on Misty, at the very least.

"Can't say I was expecting to see you here, Tracey. Wouldn't have expected that choice of class, either," the mage said.

Tracey shrugged. "Took what I could get."

"Look, as much as I'd like to talk, we really don't have time," Brock said. He gave the rogue a quick rundown of what was happening, just the basics. The assassin nodded. He really wanted to talk to his old friends, but he understood the gravity of the situation. "So, what do you have for us?"

"Oh, you're gonna like this." The rogue opened the sack he had brought and pulled something out. "This is a titan cloaking device. Turns you invisible for about three minutes without limiting your awareness or ability to interact with the world around you. Why don't you rig some explosives in their camp using it?"

Gary was mildly insulted. _He_ could turn invisible just fine without this titan trinket. But he knew Tracey was right: his invisibility spell would fail if he tried to do much other than walk around, and it only lasted about half a minute.

XXX

As the most intelligent member of the group, Gary was chosen to set up the explosives and wiring right under the officers' noses. He rigged the entire camp. The explosives weren't enough to damage the temple or obelisk, but they were more than capable of killing the Schnottz elites. Gary ran the final fuse back to the group and told them it was ready. Tracey used a gnomish lighter to set off the fuse. It burned quietly, dimly, and wouldn't draw attention until it was too late. The rogue silently counted down on his fingers: five, four, three, two, one… The explosion was loud and bright. Myzerian roared and fell the ground. He hauled himself up, still burning, with scales peeling off, and tried to fly. He fell repeatedly, but would not die. Still, it was enough to get him out of the way. His human soldiers didn't stand a chance.

"And you're in," the rogue said. "Good luck guys. I hope we meet up again…"

"Aren't you coming with us?" Misty asked.

"Um…" Tracey glanced at the sky. "I, uh… I don't know if that's a good idea…"

"Why not?" Ash asked. "Come on!"

"Well… alright… For a little while, I guess." He smiled again – that same 'off' smile. But the look in his eyes pointed to it being heartfelt, at least.


	51. The Temple of Uldum

"I'm almost finished translating these. I need you to scout out the chamber beneath the Obelisk of the Moon. There are likely to be a few of Schnottz's troops down there that escaped your blast. You take care of them and I'll meet you there when I'm finished," Harrison told the adventurers.

There was a back entrance to the chamber, of course. The heroes weren't about to go through the burning remains of the camp, especially with an angry dragon flying around. They entered through the back of the temple, after a quick walk across the lake with Brock's help. The inside was dusty, with a blue-grey haze hanging in the air. There were some fountains inside, still in perfect working order, pouring waterfalls down into pools around the edge of the room. The walls had hawks carved into them. In the center of the room was a deep pit, surrounded by golden runes. With a slow fall spell, they entered. The bottom chamber caught them completely off guard.

The chamber was a long hall with some small cross-halls. Around the heroes were pools of clear water, also fed by waterfalls from within the walls. Behind them, a gigantic stylized scarab beetle adorned the wall, made of gold and glowing cyan gem. It was beautifully crafted, although so abstract that some of the heroes initially mistook it for an acorn of some sort before noticing the elegant golden legs and figuring out what it was meant to be. Hieroglyphs glittered in bands of gold along the walls.

Stone ground against stone, and Quel'Delar's Chosen looked down to realize they were standing on a massive plate of thick glass. Beneath it were huge stone tiles with circles and lines drawn on them, like a map of the inside of a building, but these slabs were in motion, like an enormous sliding picture puzzle. The lines always connected correctly, no matter what tiles were next to each other. A mysterious, faint blue glow filtered through between the cracks and out of the section missing a tile, wherever it was at the moment, but its source couldn't be seen through the fog and dust.

Quietly, they began to move along the path bordered by golden runes and pools of water. The first cross hall they came to confirmed that this was a Titan building. Each hall had on its wall a giant mask, like those mummies would wear, but crafted of the same glowing materials as the scarab, and just as sleek and stylized. Nobody spoke. They were struck silent by the craftsmanship, and the knowledge that the beings who had created this building had also shaped their world, and many others.

But now it was time to fight. Ghosts defended the halls ahead from Schnottz soldiers, but they were failing, dissipating into the air. It was up to Quel'Delar's Chosen and their pokemon to clear the way. The knowledge that had humbled them also empowered them, giving them new energy and reminding them what they were fighting for. The soldiers stood no chance.

Soon, Harrison Jones joined the heroes. "Glad you could make it," Starwisp said. The archaeologist greeted them, then moved straight into the task at hand.

"There should be two titan communication devices in this chamber. If my translations are correct, one is a death trap and the other will accept the codes and activate the obelisk."

"And you've figured out the correct one to use, of course," Kai said.

"Well, I certainly hope so. I can't be completely sure."

There was a pause. "What sort of death trap are we talking about, here?" Tracey asked warily, wondering if he really wanted to be involved in this. Harrison did not answer, already heading for one of the masks. Beneath it was a strange machine obviously of Titan origin.

"This should just take a moment." Harrison pushed buttons, pulled levers, and turned dials, then stepped back.

A mechanical voice came from the mask, somehow in Common. "Codes accepted. Activating mechanism."

"Well, that went smoothly for a change."

"Error! System failure. Internal data corruption detected. Constructing defense mechanism."

"Too good to be true. I might have known. Looks like we do this the hard way. Let's go!"

"Is it… going to kill us?" Brock asked, not sure if the death trap had been activated or not. He didn't get an answer, having to run after the others, who followed Harrison. This point in the hallway had alcoves with massive statues of animal-headed gods. At the end of the hallway was another giant mummy statue. In front of it was a giant round platform – or it looked like a platform from their point of view. It actually held a pool of water, or something _like_ water, spinning in a whirlpool.

"Yes, this all looks familiar enough. Thanks to all the information you gathered for me, I'm sure that I can activate the mechanism. I'll just need some time free from distraction. As soon as I get started, you can count on that titan construct to try and stop me. That's where you come in. I don't need to remind you of what's riding on this. Take down that guardian!" Jones climbed up onto the edge of the pool.

Sure enough, the mummy guardian came to life, and large moonstones left their sockets in the walls to levitate over toward it, glowing brightly. Suddenly, a moonfire beam shot down and struck the warlock. The statue could wield moonlight like a weapon.

"Take out those rocks!" Jones said. "That should deactivate it!"

Gary started casting a frostbolt. "I'm fighting a moonstone. This is absurd."

"Yeah, I just had one of those 'what the hell are we doing?' moments," Ash agreed, charging in to attack the brittle stone after the frost had weakened it.

Brock was having trouble hitting the floating rocks with his hammer, which was slow to swing. The moonstones just floated away from him. Without losing his patience, he tried casting frost and earth shocks at them instead. Team Rocket's fire and ice combination worked just as well as ever, and Starwisp backed them with arcane shots.

Kai took his dragon form and tried to crush the rocks with his claws. They were quite tough. Brock let his onix try to smash them with its tail. The chamber was big enough for the rock snake to have plenty of room.

As predicted, once the moonstones failed, the construct ceased to move. The merciless moonbeams stopped at last, just as Harrison finished his work. The pool activated, shooting a beam of light straight up. Another obelisk was active.

"Wait. Where's Tracey?" Ash asked.

"That's a good question," James said.

Quel'Delar's Chosen found him in one of the side chambers. His excuse was that he'd been attacked by a remaining Schnottz soldier and had gone the wrong way by accident. Of course, some of the others were suspicious, but didn't want to make any accusations just yet.

Once outside the chamber, they met up with Sullah again. Harrison explained that they needed to get up the mountain fortress.

"Well, you're not going far with those troopers crawling all over it like ants on a carcass," the turbaned man said. "Luckily for you, I have friends." He smiled at the rogue.

"Oh, I see. Have my… friends… delivered the, uh, _confiscated enemy hardware?"_ Tracey asked, smiling. Again, something about the way he smiled creeped Misty out. She tried not to look at him when he smiled. There was a time when she'd liked to see him smile – it had always been such a genuine, innocent smile. Not anymore.

"They have. It should make your journey a bit easier. Make your way up the ridgeline to the north, and you'll find it waiting for you. Good luck."

"Are they still there?" the rogue asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Your friends? No, they've left, already. Mollie Gee said they had things to attend to," Sullah replied. Tracey nodded knowingly, but said nothing in response.

XXX

The dragon whelp had already learned to speak very fluently. Lance was very impressed with the progress Orpheus – that was what he'd named the whelp – was making, although the little prince didn't seem to like his name very much. The champion wondered if perhaps it was about time Fleezlebop told the whelp who he really was, where he came from, and why. He needed to know his past.

XXX

Harrison and Quel'Delar's Chosen arrived at the top of the cliff facing the mountain fortress. The confiscated enemy hardware that Tracey had been referring to turned out to be catapults, _three_ of them, complete with projectiles wrapped in cloth soaked in flammable liquid, ready to be lit and fired. Gary started laughing quietly. "Oh, the fun we will have!"

Doctor Jones just let out an impressed whistle. "Sullah, you and your buddies never cease to amaze me."

"What are we waiting for?" Ash asked. He was as excited as the mage. "James, Kai, Tracey, help me load these things into the catapults. Gary, Brock, and Jessie, you guys can light the projectiles. The rest of you can fire the catapults."

XXX

The heroes climbed up the stairs leading up the mountain fortress, casually stepping right over the charred Schnottz soldiers' corpses. "Wow, we completely decimated them!" the warrior said.

"Nah, Ash, I don't think that's the right word," Gary said. "It implies we only killed one tenth of them. I'm thinking this is more like _all_ of them."

"Hopefully all of them," the paladin commented.

They arrived at a large square, surrounded by buildings on all but the side they were entering from and a small stairway leading farther up the mountain. In the center was a _massive_ statue of a stone Tol'vir, winged and masked with the head of a bird, rearing up on its hind legs. Around the edge of the square, statues of falcons, with small flecks of gold suggesting they had once been gilded, stood guard.

"It's just a matter of time before those troops get their act together. The coffer should be just beyond these ruins. Stay on your toes. Something tells me this isn't over yet," Harrison said.

Indeed, they ran into Commander Schnottz, who was channeling magic into a pyramid-shaped object surrounded by four tiny obelisks.

Harrison's eyes narrowed. "I figured I might see you again, Schnottz."

At that moment, a full squadron of Schnottz riflemen rushed down the steps, all pointing their guns at the adventurers.

The goblin grinned. "Ve meet again, Doctor Jones! Zhanks to your vork in zhis region, my mission has become much easier."

"We know what you're up to, Schnottz!" Misty said. "Deathwing will never get the Coffer of Promise, not while any of us still live!"

"Vell in zhat case, ve must ensure zhat you and your friends are out of zhe picture. _Permanently._" Schnottz cast a spell on the pyramid, which rose up out of the ground, revealing a giant blue crystal. Red light shot out toward the colossal statue.

A rifleman yelled "What is that thing?" as the giant stone Tol'vir came to life, thudding down onto all four stone paws with force that shook the ground.

"You von't live to see your precious coffer, Jones!" The goblin took off up the stairs.

"Not so fast, Schnottz!" the archaeologist shouted, chasing after him. Gunshots rang out as the riflemen tried to defend themselves against the colossus, which brought its paw down on one of them, shaking the ground so hard that some of the buildings collapsed behind Jones and Schnottz, cutting them off from Quel'Delar's Chosen.

"Zhat vhich you seek vill soon be mine, Doctor Jones!" they heard Schnottz shout. He left in a hot air balloon.

"Isn't that supposed to be our thing?" Jessie asked.

"Right now, '_our thing_' is not being blasted off by that statue," the death knight replied, looking for a weak point on his opponent.

Misty called out her vaporeon. Logically, as a stone construct, the colossus would have the same weakness as a rock-type pokemon. The others followed this example, letting out onix, absol, and scyther. Pikachu crackled with electricity, waiting for vaporeon to use her water attacks.

Even onix was small compared to the colossus, but it tried its best to hold the construct's attention. Kai took his dragon form and lifted into the sky. He would do his best to attack with fire and claw from above.

Gary started chain-casting frostfire bolts, while Brock alternated between frost and flame shocks when he could, manipulating the stone floor with earth shock at other times. Team Rocket once again fell back onto fire and ice, the tried and true technique.

The falcon statues suddenly shot flaming beams out of their eyes, killing the last of the Schnottz soldiers. "Take those down!" Starwisp said, taking aim. Meowth followed suit. Tracey retrieved his crossbow from the plane of storage and loaded a bolt onto it.

Ash noticed cracks in the ancient colossus's stony body. He didn't want to damage his swords, but maybe if he climbed up onto the construct and waited for a frost spell to hit the right place, he could weaken the old joints by using his blades as levers. Scyther was already employing the same technique. Its old wings couldn't carry it far, but they were enough to get the pokemon up onto the construct's back, where it could use its claws to mercilessly hack at the colossus's body.

One of the stone falcons' heads shattered as the crossbow bolt hit its mark. "Hehehe. Boom, headshot."

A huge stone feather snapped off the wing and nearly crushed absol as Kai hit a weak point. The stone Tol'vir reached out to grab the drake, but it was too slow and missed by a long shot.

Pikachu's thunderbolt hit the wet patch worn smooth by repeated hydropumps. Absol managed to climb up the construct's leg and began tugging at the thinnest point of the wing, trying to break it.

A frostfire bolt slammed right into the crack on the Tol'vir's flank that Ash had been hoping his rival would hit. Taking advantage of the brittleness, he jammed his sword into it and snapped off a huge chunk of stone.

The paladin was busy healing the stone snake. Even onix was faring badly in the fight against the colossus. The statue suddenly pulled back as if preparing for a punch, and then launched its hand into the pokemon. Onix slammed against the nearest building, which crumbled with the impact. Misty rushed to heal it. The colossus began channeling a rain of shadow magic.

Jessie replied with her own shadow magic. She called down a black meteor, a hand of Gul'dan, and followed it with a chaos bolt and shadowbolts. She and James cast the one spell they both knew: death coil. Their combined shadow magic was a force to be reckoned with.

Meowth shattered the last falcon statue as the colossus stopped channeling and went back to attacking the onix. The archers and the rogue were free to return their attentions to the stone construct. Starwisp fired an arcane shot at the construct's head, while Tracey put the crossbow away and pulled out a pair of previously-concealed daggers. Much like the undead rogue Lorien, he was agile and able to climb things very easily. Despite the colossus stomping its feet, he was able to dart up the leg and onto its back, where he started prying loose exterior stone off with his weapons. Wherever the statue was damaged, the animating magic would leak out. Eventually it could be deactivated this way.

Nobody knew who landed the killing blow, but eventually the construct creaked and swayed back and forth. Those on its back hurried to get off while those on the ground rushed to get away, and just in time. The construct collapsed, shaking the ground so hard that the rubble that was blocking the stairway came loose and rolled down the stairs.

"Hurry, let's go!" the night elf urged.

"You're all still in one piece. Good!" Harrison said. He'd stopped chasing Schnottz to try to get the rubble out of the way. He knew he could not succeed without them. He and the heroes began to run.

"Schnottz got away, didn't he?" Jessie asked.

"Yes, but he can't get the coffer on his own," Jones assured her. "After all we've been through, it looks like everything's actually coming together! We're just steps away from the coffer… I've researched the codes to reveal it… Schnottz thinks we're dead… You know, we might just pull this off after all!"

XXX

Jones finished inputting the code into the machine near the strange golden dome. The dome appeared to be empty, but Quel'Delar's Chosen knew better."That oughta do it!"

The golden dome faded, revealing the Coffer of Promise, a huge stone chest with a pair of strange, abstract golden statues, either of birds or angels, on the top, their wings stretched toward each other.

Harrison looked impressed. "Would you look at that…!"

"We've done it!" Gary cheered, laughing.

Suddenly, Schnottz's air balloon rose up from below the edge of the cliff, flanked by two massive black wyrms. The goblin himself was standing at the edge of the basket, holding a gun at the ready.

"Vell done, Doctah Jones! Not only haf you led me right to zhe coffer, but you haf removed its protektions!" He jumped down onto the platform. "Such a pity... I vould offer you a prestigious position in my organization if I didn't haf to kill you. But first! You shall vitness zhe destruction of zhat vhich you hold so dear!"

Harrison went pale. "The Coffer? You wouldn't..."

"Oh, don't be such a fool! I never vanted your silly chest for myself. Zhat artifact is zhe only zhink preventink Deazhvink from activatink zhe reorigination mechanism! Vonce his lust for vengeance is sated, I vill be free to rule Azerozh as I see fit!"

Suddenly, a dwarven voice came from within the coffer, muffled. "Och! Come on now, ye buggar…"

"Hmm? Vhat vas zhat?" His dragons flew around to behind the coffer, where they landed. One of them sneered and called Kai an obnoxious whelp. "No matter! In a moment, nozhink vill remain of any of zhis!"

A sphere of golden light rose up from the Coffer.

"Close your eyes, kids. This ain't gunna be pretty…" Harrison warned. Everyone turned away from the coffer, except Schnottz and the two dragons.

"Destroy zhe - Vait... vhat is ZHAT?" Even though their eyes were shut, the heroes saw the sudden burst of extremely bright light. They heard the crackling energy. The dragons roared and Schnottz screamed loudly. After a moment, they cautiously opened their eyes. The dragons were charred and nothing was left but a splatter of blood and bone where the goblin had been standing.

Stone ground against stone, and a dwarf hauled himself out of the coffer. It was Brann Bronzebeard, renowned explorer and one of the greatest archaeologists on Azeroth.

"Ahah! Fresh air at last!" he said. He laughed. "Two steps ahead of ye again, Junior, as usual!"

There was a dead silence for a moment as the others tried to wrap their minds around what had just happened.

"'Bout time ye showed up. I been expectin' ye fer a full day now. Leavin' an ol' dwarf ta swelter... I trained ye better than that, Junior!"

Harrison rolled his eyes. "Don't call me Junior."


	52. More Data!

"Don't go breakin' yer arm pattin' yerself on the back now, the real work's just beginnin'!" Brann said. "There be more ta this ancient artifact than ye know, but in order ta reveal its secrets, we need ta get it to the Cradle of the Ancients! Now howdya spose we do that? Maybe Junior over there has some bright ideas, eh?"

"Of course I have a plan for moving the coffer!" Jones replied. Then he grumbled, "Someday, maybe the old coot will learn to trust me." He turned to Brock. "I had planned on bringing the coffer back to my lab for study, but it seems Brann here has different ideas."

"Tha's right. I think I know how ta put a stop ta Deathwing's plans here in Uldum!"

"My buddy, Jock, is standing by with the transport, just waiting for our signal, which happens to be your lightning. Make as big an electrical storm as you can, Brock. Kai, you can help lift the Coffer. Let me strap you to it."

While the archaeologists tied the drake to the Coffer of Promise, Brock waved his warhammer and called down a great thunderstorm. It stood out in the middle of the desert, to say the least. Jock soon showed up with a powerful gnomish helicopter. The drake and the copter were able to lift the Coffer – and the adventurers – into the sky and to their destination.

"While I was able to get into the Coffer, there was a false bottom that I couldn't budge. I do know, though, where ta take the thing ta make it unlock," Brann explained on the way there. They set the coffer down on a small lump of raised earth in the dead forest Starwisp had gone hunting in earlier. The dry riverbed around it was cracked and crumbly, and filled with fish skeletons. Most importantly, there was a wall behind it, with the gold-and-cyan mask that the heroes kept seeing all over the zone hanging on it. No sooner had they unstrapped the Coffer from the drake and the helicopter than the eyes of the mask lit up! Beams of golden light shot out of the eyes and scanned over the Coffer. The heroes had to shut their eyes.

When they reopened them, the oasis had been transformed. The trees were lush and green, the riverbed refilled, the ground, once devoid of life, now covered with moss. Ferns grew on every available surface, and waterfalls flowed from the dry old wall. A rainbow appeared. Flowers the size of trees with beautiful petals towered over the river, and butterflies had appeared. Fish swam through the new water. The Coffer had generated new life.

"Well, would ya look at tha'…." Brann muttered. Ash pushed the lid off the unlocked Coffer and retrieved some stone disks of titan origin. "Of course! I had a hunch this is what we'd find. Had no idea about the organic transformations, though, I must admit. There's more to this old relic than I'd dared to hope."

"I won't be able to accompany you any further," Harrison said. "It's been a pleasure working with you all, but I think Brann has it covered, and I'm needed elsewhere." He shook hands with all the adventurers. "Good luck!"

"Well, you lot seem ta be worth yer salt. Ye wanna tag along with me while I investigate the Halls of Origination? Ye know, see how a _real_ archaeologist works, eh?"

Tracey glanced at the sky again. "I dunno. Maybe we should do that tomorrow, don't you think? Isn't it getting a little bit late?"

"Oh come on, it won't take that long!" Misty said. The rogue was silent.

XXX

The Halls of Origination were within a giant pyramid. In front of the pyramid were a series of pillars leading up to a plaza where four giant statues stood – a humanoid woman and three animal-headed men: a falcon, a jackal, and a ram. The heroes entered the pyramid. The floor was incredibly shiny and covered in golden hieroglyphs. The ceiling was embedded with lapis lazuli, and in the walls were massive, elegantly wrought metal grills, behind which burned blue flames. Quel'Delar's Chosen passed through the winding halls, going deeper into the pyramid. They crossed a large bridge – they couldn't see what the bridge went over, besides some sort of pit, because the sides were so tall, clearly meant for creatures much bigger than themselves – to a fork in the path, decorated with giant statues of mummies wearing jewelry and some sort of strange hat or crown. The mummies were sitting on gigantic thrones. It was here that the heroes ran into a pack of stone Tol'vir, one of which was winged. After a brief scuffle, the adventurers continued, choosing a random direction to go on. As it turned out, the fork was rather pointless, as the two paths reconnected later.

"This place makes me feel very small," Gary commented.

"How d'ya think I feel, lad?" Brann replied. It was a valid point. As a dwarf, he was barely half Gary's height.

Tori sniffed. "Scaly."

"What?" Misty asked, looking at the whelpling. The red dragonling had grown too large to sit on her caretaker's shoulder, and was now walking alongside her.

"Smell scaly things. Gul dragon. Is karkun."

"What's a karkun? What's a gul dragon?" Ash asked.

"Gul means not, and karkun means mortal," Kai explained. "Shi zila enkil xi gular Common," he said to the whelp, "gul Maladath ruk Common." She just grunted. The others looked at him blankly. "I told her not to mix her languages."

They came to another bridge, without the thick rails. It was over a pit full of sand, with a pair of levers visible, one on each side, connected to a giant globe of golden light. The pit was swarming with snakes, which is exactly what Tori had detected. "It's a good thing Junior didn't come with us," Brann commented. Across the bridge was a stone Tol'vir with wings and the head of a ram. This was the Temple Guardian, Anhuur. They could not continue until he was defeated.

"Turn back, intruders! These halls must not be disturbed!" the guardian warned.

"Please, let us enter," Misty tried to reason with it. "If we don't secure the halls of origination, the world will be-"

"_Turn back._"

"We must enter! The fate of Azeroth depends on-"

"_If you will not leave of your own will, I shall force you to, or kill you trying!_" And with that, Anhuur charged. Ash charged too and met him in combat halfway over the bridge. Anhuur parried Ash's swords with his spear, and smacked the warrior with the dull end. Jessie cast her immolate spell, followed by soul fire and a chaos bolt. James rushed forward to back the warrior's attacks and to help defend him against the massive creature's wicked spear, which had already torn a gash in the warrior's side. Misty started healing him. Brann was not a fighter – he stood back.

"Beacons of light, bestow upon me your aegis!" Anhuur shouted. A bubble of light, not unlike the one that Misty often used, formed around the Temple Guardian. If he was in fact wielding the same Light she did, it carried great significance for the history of Azeroth, the Light, and the Titans. But that was not something she could worry about at the moment.

"They're coming from those globes – we need to shut them off," the rogue observed. He jumped down into the viper pit, landing softly and taking no injuries from the fall. He pulled out some small, hidden blades, several in each hand, and threw them out to the sides in a fan of knives, killing many of the snakes. Then he darted for the lever. Gary had floated gently down on the other side of the bridge, simply opting to cast a blast wave around him when he hit the ground, scorching all the snakes as he pulled the lever. The two boys ran back up the stairs as the shield deactivated around Anhuur, who was singing some sort of unearthly hymn that pierced their ears and made it impossible to concentrate on fighting, as though it magically weakened and distracted them.

"Shut up!" Gary shouted, casting a counterspell that silenced Anhuur's magic song. "Hey, that actually worked pretty well. Maybe I should cast that on Ash next time he's being annoying."

"Do you want me to fight him or you?" the warrior asked. "Cause I can just step aside and let him kill you, you know."

"You know you'd never do that to me, Ash. I'm like a brother to you." The fighting continued despite the banter. Much to Ash's irritation, Gary was able to talk and cast spells at the same time.

"An annoying brother."

"Twerps, is now really the time?" Jessie asked.

The beacons of light went up again. "Whoops! Ash, we can continue this fine debate after I've hit that switch," Gary said, hopping down into the pit again to pull the lever once more.

"No thanks," the warrior muttered.

No sooner had the mage and rogue returned than Brock was able to land a killing blow with a lightning bolt. Gary handed out the usual conjured water and food, and Jessie made some healthstones for everyone – little green balls of who-knew-what that would burn up in one's hand and work like a miniature health potion.

Fighting their way through more stone Tol'vir, the heroes came to a room with a large, glassy circle embedded in the floor, with a panel next to it. Brann told them to ignore it for the time being. He led them to a side chamber with a large door.

"Just beyond that door lies the control room. I'll just run in, disable the reorigination mechanism, and then we all go home. Nice an' easy. Ye see, it's this level of preparation that separates yer true archaeologist from yer average treasure hunter. No sense in stirring up the beasties if ye don't have to. Just makes a mess a' things..." The dwarf entered some codes into the door. "Right, let's go. Just need to input the final entry sequence into the door mechanism and... That did the trick; the control room should be behind this- oh wow..." The door opened up, throwing dust everywhere, through which only a gigantic room could be barely made out, which soon settled enough for them to really see what was on the other side. "What? This isn't the control room, there's another entire defensive mechanism in place and the blasted rock Troggs broke into here somehow. Troggs, why did it have to be Troggs?"

"Of course. Nothing ever goes according to plan," Kai muttered. The floor of the room had several square glass panels with the shifting stone tiles under them, as the heroes had seen before.

Brann stroked his beard. "Ok. Let me think a moment... Mirrors pointing all over the place... Four platforms with huge elementals... I got it! I saw a tablet that mentions this chamber: this is the Vault of Lights! Ok, simple enough, I need you adventures to take out each of the four elementals to trigger the opening sequence to the far door. Their deaths should light up the round things on their platforms to bounce off the mirrors."

"Four elementals… alright. It should be pretty clear how we're going to divide up," Gary said. "Who'll go with each of the four pendant-bearers?"

The team split up to face off with the elementals. Gary and Kai would take on the fire elemental. Brock and Team Rocket would attack the earth elemental. Ash and Starwisp would fight the air elemental, and Tracey would help Misty against the water elemental. Gary frowned for a moment, but shrugged and went with the group's decision.

The fire elemental was of the stone-bodied variety, easy for Kai to attack with his claws and tail. Gary's frostfire spell was powerful against the flaming creature, but without healing, he would have to watch out for its retaliatory fire. It did burn him, and the drake, but Kai was more resilient than the little human mage, who had to retreat to evocate in order to restore his health. Returning to combat, he was able to finish off the damaged elemental.

The water elemental made pools of boiling, scalding water that the paladin and rogue easily evaded. It used a spell equivalent to a bubblebeam, but Misty was able to keep herself and her companion healed. The rogue pulled several test tubes from their places on his belt – they were full of brightly colored poisons. He uncorked them and flicked the tubes to send some of the liquid into the elemental, polluting and corrupting its waters. They reacted badly to each other and to the Light that Misty kept putting through the water elemental's body. It didn't last long.

Jessie and James were able to work with Brock, alternating frost and fire to devastating effect. The elemental cracked and crumbled bit by bit. It punched the ground, sending up a shockwave that impaled the death knight on a spike of stone. He hauled himself off and stumbled back, bleeding badly. Jessie was able to temporarily hold the elemental's attention while Brock cast his healing wave over the injured death knight.

Pikachu imbued its master's blades with lightning, allowing him to strike the elemental of air. Starwisp used arcane shots to damage the incorporeal creature, even as she moved around to evade its tornados. She and the warrior were able to bring it down without much resistance.

Brann Bronzebeard yelled "That's it, you done it! The Vault door is opening, now we can- Oh no..." A massive mummy statue – they were everywhere! – lumbered through the doorway.

It spoke in a mechanical voice. "_This unit has been activated outside normal operating protocols. Downloading new operational parameters... Download complete. Full unit self defense routines are now active. Destruction of foreign units in this system shall now commence._"

"Purge of annoying setback commencing," Gary replied, as he and the others rushed out toward the construct. He started casting a pyroblast.

Brock called out his onix to struggle with the construct and keep it busy. Vaporeon would be helpful as well, but Gary didn't even bother to let his absol join in – it hadn't done much good against the colossus, so it wouldn't do much here either.

XXX

"Anraphet unit shutting down…" the construct said as it fell apart.

"Alright, the control room is breached! This should only take a moment." A few moments later, he shouted "Blast it all! Someone's gone and corrupted the entire system! There be no way fer me ta access the main repository from this console." Quel'Delar's Chosen joined him in the control room. "We're gunna hafta do this the hard way. I hope you an' yer friends here are up to a fight. There're four guardians on the upper level of this place. I won't be able ta utilize these disks 'til they're... uhh, offline, shall we say."


	53. Opening a Can of Whoopass

Gary turned a dial and pushed a button on the machine next to the glass circle. It began to lift up into the hole in the ceiling. "Going up…" the mage announced. The glass elevator arrived at its destination. "Second floor! Frozen goods, men's shoes, and canned whoopass!"

The heroes looked around. There were four rooms arranged evenly around the central chamber. Each had a throne with a giant gem on its backrest and a fan of crystal feathers matching it on the wall behind: one blue, one green, one yellow, and one purple.

"I guess someone didn't like the color red or something," Ash muttered.

"Which one first?" Starwisp asked.

Tracey examined the symbols carved into the gems. The gold one had the sun over clouds, the purple one had a spiral galaxy, the blue one had a star and a planet, which in turn had the moon next to it, and the green one had a tree. "Um, the green and yellow ones look friendly. Maybe even the purple one."

Misty looked at him suspiciously. There was a pause. "We'll have to go to all of them eventually. Is there a reason you're avoiding the blue gem?"

"No, of course not…"

The heroes ended up going to the blue one first anyway (and Brann wished them luck while he stayed behind), because it attracted their leader's attention with high amounts of arcane energy. As they approached, they saw the guardian – a humanoid woman. Beside her throne were two massive torches that blazed with blue fire. Two portals were open in front of her, with arcane wraiths wandering about.

The heroes made sure all their group spells were up, then after a quick check to make sure they were all prepared, charged in. The wraiths didn't last more than a minute each; the warlock and mage made short work of them. The titanic construct woman, Isiset, rose from her throne.

"Gaze to the heavens – what do you see?"

"The ceiling," Gary replied, deadpan. Isiset ignored him and lifted her hand into the air, calling down a rain of stars. Like flares, they burned when they touched the adventurers! Tracey yelped and vanished into thin air, wrapping his cloak around him as he faded from sight. He reappeared a few moments later in a corner of the room, having observed what the woman was doing and concluding it wasn't as dangerous as he'd initially thought.

Ash and James, despite being small enough for her to step on, were able to hold her attention by hacking at her stone feet with their blades and avoiding her attacks. She eventually stopped trying to step on them, as they moved too quickly, and tried to swat them with her hands or summon balls of starlight to attack them. They clearly kept her busy in a way that she couldn't target everyone else at once, and for this reason, Brock did not opt to use onix for this fight. Tracey selected his arsenal carefully – applying just the right acids to his blades after observing Isiset's form and fighting style. The rogue moved in behind to see if he could do any damage to her ankles when she least expected it.

Jessie's imp cast a constant stream of fireballs, as its master placed all her curses, banes, and corruptions, then proceeded to cast fire and shadow at the construct. She was getting quite good at using her magic effectively. She was not as quick a learner as Gary, but now that she'd had enough time to really understand what she was doing, she was quite dangerous. She knew how her spells interacted with each other, how her incinerate reacted to immolate magic, how to use her chaos and shadow bolts.

Isiset suddenly conjured up and wrapped around herself a gauzy black cloak glittering with stars, like a sheet ripped from space. Gary's fireball bounced off of it. It was clearly not a physical object, because it reached down all the way to the floor and the fighters' blades passed right through. "Ooh, hey, that's a really snazzy spell. I'm just gonna take that," the mage said, casting spellsteal, a powerful piece of magic that took certain spells away from the target _and_ transferred them to Gary. He considered making a comment about how hot he must look in such an awesome starry cloak, but decided not to. Nobody was looking at him anyway, and he certainly didn't want to distract them with curiosity. The stars that fell from above mostly bounced off of him as he cast his pyroblast, living bomb, and combustion.

Misty had to really be on the ball; the stars falling from the sky were doing a lot of damage. Her golden light countered the silver light and kept her fighters in top shape. "Can you guys do anything about the starfall thing she's doing?"

"That's not starfall. I've seen my dad cast starfall, and this is much worse," Starwisp commented, loading another cobra shot and taking aim. Meowth was learning some of the night elf's more magical archery tricks, such as serpent sting and arcane shot, and was quickly taking to his newfound abilities. Aeroth continued to swoop around the construct's head, clawing at her face and blocking her vision with his wings. She couldn't swat at him and the fighters at the same time.

"Bask in my radiance!" Isiset shouted, beginning to cast a spell.

"_Turn away!_" Brock shouted, covering his eyes. There was a bright flash of light moments later. It scorched his skin like a nasty sunburn, but he was glad his eyes hadn't been exposed to it. The others were as well.

Then, Isiset split into multiple copies of herself, each slightly different. One had a necklace of bright stars like the ones she'd summoned to attack the heroes, another had a cloak of stars like the one Gary had stolen, and the last had stars hanging from her arms like chains of beads. Quel'Delar's Chosen randomly picked one to attack – the one with dangling stars. The copies were weak, and Astral Rain died quickly. The other two rejoined into Isiset, who could no longer cast the starfall-esque spell that Misty had been complaining about.

"Killing those splits destroys some of her spells!" Kai said, taking a breather as he flew around the construct's head. He couldn't continually spit flames without catching his breath now and then.

Pikachu and the shaman produced an onslaught of lightning. Brock also summoned up a fire totem that shot little bolts of flame. Vaporeon's hydropump reacted with the lightning to cause additional damage to Isiset. The shaman's earth shocks were devastating, his frost shocks equally destructive, and his lava bolts powerful enough to crack her stony body. Still the construct persisted!

Again, she split – this time, the heroes brought down the one with a necklace – Celestial Call. There was no point destroying the Veil of Sky, because that would not only not solve a problem, but deprive Gary of a new defensive spell. He wanted to hang onto its source as long as he could. Once more, Isiset resorted to casting a supernova, which didn't do much good.

Brock cast a lava bolt at the woman's face, shattering some of the stone. Finally, the titanic construct collapsed. "Eons of darkness… by your hands!" she wailed, as she fell forward.

"Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," Tracey muttered. "This might turn out nicely after all." He caught himself starting to smile normally and quickly fixed the error. The others mustn't find out…

"What?" the paladin asked.

"Nothing. Was just talking to myself."

"Which one next?" Ash asked.

"I dunno. How about green?" James suggested, with a shrug. He'd picked the color at random, so the others really had no argument against it. There were no torches in this section, but instead a green light from no particular source filled the room. Large vines waved around of their own accord, with orange spikey spores at the ends. Little buds grew on the floor, and a pair of nymphs – cousins of the dryads with dainty brown unicorn bodies and bushy green hair on their pale elf heads – cared for them all. On the throne was a man covered in green runes, and with the head of a ram.

"First, let's take out those dryads-" the warrior began.

"Nymphs," Gary corrected.

"Shut up, Oak. Nobody asked you."

The mage laughed. "Oh, I see _Thisalee's _been on your mind." Ash realized he's unintentionally imitated her and blushed.

"Who's Thisalee?" Tracey asked.

"Ash's girlfriend," the mage said.

"She is not!" the warrior snapped.

"But you wish she was."

Ash loudly cleared his throat. "_Anyway! Back to the topic at hand!_ Kill the nymphs or whatever the hell they are, because we can drag them away from their plants. We can go back in and kill the vines afterward." Gary considered pointing out the suspicious lack of denial, but decided that he could pester his old friend about it afterwards. Right now the fate of the world was at stake, and that was far more important than annoying Ash.

"Less chatting, more killing," Jessie said impatiently. Ash charged in and got the nymphs to follow him, then ran back away from the vines, which had tried to attack him. Much to his surprise, the buds bloomed almost immediately and produced lashers – mobile, and _vicious_, carnivorous flowers. The mage and warlock area of effect spells quickly solved that problem, and Gary polymorphed one of the nymphs so the whole group could gang up on one at a time. The systematic approach easily wiped out the nymphs and flowers, and swiftly killed the vines as well.

The ram-headed Ammunae was not much harder to kill, despite his pseudo-threat that his chamber would "flourish with" their "life energy". After fighting Isiset, he was a piece of cake. All he really did was conjure up lasher buds that Tracey and Starwisp quickly took care of, and occasionally used a spell much like Jessie's drain-life. Naturally, the warlock just drained her own health right back from him, and Misty was able to keep the others pretty well covered, especially with Brock throwing in some helpful backup heals now and then.

"The cycle continues…" the construct said, as he collapsed.

"That was remarkably simple," Kai commented.

"Well, two down, two to go," James said. "Judging by this experience, they will either be fiendishly hard or insultingly easy. I hope, for once, that it is the latter…"

"We shall see…" the night elf said.


	54. What You Are in the Dark

The purple chamber was creepy, as though the shadows there lived and breathed. Next to the throne were statues of a pair of black jackals. They closely resembled the construct on the throne: Setesh. He had a jackal head with a purple and gold star between his eyes, obsidian skin broken only by lines of purple energy, and gold triangular markings on his arms and legs.

In front of him were two black voidwraiths – thinner than voidwalkers, and darker too. They were channeling dark magic into a third void creature, one that had purple rune-like wings. Misty quickly took them down with holy magic. The third void creature fell to the combined might of Quel'Delar's Chosen without incident.

Setesh rose. "You fear that which you cannot control," he said, "but can you control your fear?" The rogue shuddered. No, no, he couldn't control his fear. His worst fear…

The jackal man walked off in a random direction. Ash and James were powerless to bend him to their will. It was like fighting the Lich King again – the terror that flooded them when they realized they were powerless to control the way the fight would play out had not filled their hearts for over a year. Setesh was ignoring their efforts, continuing his steeled walk through the attacks that began to flow in. Exorcisms, fireballs, shadowbolts, lightning, and arrows; nothing seemed to faze him in the slightest.

Setesh opened a black portal to a shadow dimension. Mana wyrms – floating, vaguely dragonlike finned serpents – poured out. These _did_ pay attention to Ash as he charged in and swung his blades wildly around, challenging them with a loud battle shout. He had to have control over something. He could not be entirely powerless!

"Ash has the situation under control," the mage assured his friends. "We can focus on slaying that construct!"

"Do you need healing, or should I deal some damage?" Misty asked.

"I'm good!" the warrior shouted, momentarily raising a sword in a mid-combat version of a thumbs-up gesture. "I should be able to last a while out here – you kill that thing!"

"Alright then," the paladin said, narrowing her eyes. She didn't often get to fully devote herself to combat, but she could be quite effective when she did. The wings of light appeared on her back and she unleashed everything in her arsenal. An exorcism, a judgement, holy shocks, and then she ran toward the construct and began hacking at it with her Light-imbued blade.

The rogue hesitated significantly before going to help her. Setesh scared the shit out of him. He reminded Tracey of all the things the rogue would rather not think about. _Control your fear,_ he thought, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He sighed, opened his eyes, and joined the fray.

"Uh, guys, this thing won't take any damage!" Ash suddenly called out. He was fighting helplessly against a large golem of some sort with a purple crystal core.

"Nothing we throw at it has any effect!" James said.

Gary tried casting a frost lance, a fire blast, and even an arcane blast, but nothing worked. None of Brock's spells worked either. Starwisp's arrows bounced right off. "Okay," she muttered, "you want to do this the hard way?" She imbued her next arrow with purple magic. She'd used this spell in the past to save her father when he needed to pause to heal himself, and it would serve her again now. It did no damage to the construct, but it did force it to attack her, which was exactly the desired effect. The night elf took off running.

Brock called out his onix. Perhaps that would finally give Setesh something to pause for. The jackal construct shot a chaos bolt at the pokemon and pushed it aside as he went to open a new portal, just after James had shut down the last one.

Mildly annoyed, Setesh cast a seed of chaos – a single ball of magic that caused an area around him to ripple and bubble with black magic. Those in close proximity, pokemon and human alike, rushed to get out of the way. The rogue started shooting the titanic guardian with his crossbow, for lack of a better option, and the paladin continued to cast exorcisms.

Another golem came crashing out of the portal. Starwisp picked that one up as well and continued to run around the chamber.

"How are we gonna kill those?" Kai asked in between panting for air as he took a break from breathing fire.

"We'll worry about that when this guy goes down," Meowth said, firing an arrow.

The construct walked by the shaman, who took the opportunity to swing his warhammer, imbued with fire, into Setesh's ankle. It was a very powerful blow, actually causing the guardian to stumble for a moment. He was halfway through the opening of another portal when vaporeon managed to tip him over with her attacks.

"Yes! Harness… your… hate!" As Setesh died, the rogue could have sworn he'd looked directly at him. _Just my imagination, right?_

There was but one guardian left: Rajh, the construct of the sun. In his golden chamber, there were two fire elementals and a small construct not all that different from Setesh, but far less elaborately decorated, lacking the purple and gold markings. The warrior and death knight took on the fire elementals while the rest of the team took down the jackal warrior. He was nowhere near as tough as his chaotic counterpart. In fact, the elementals proved to be more of a challenge. They split in half instead of dying, and had to be fought as a pair, then a quartet, each. The group quickly resorted to area of effect spells like the reliable old blizzard and rain of fire, in addition to consecration and chain lightning.

"Defilers! Wretches! Fiends! Begone from here!" Rajh shouted as the heroes stepped beyond some arbitrary boundary programmed into him by the titans. The falcon-headed construct adorned with gold raised his flame sword into the air and began to hum. Moments later, a fiery meteor fell upon the group and inflicted terrible damage. The paladin healed everyone around her with the stored holy power from her runed necklace. The shaman cast a chain-healing spell.

"Okay, don't let that happen again!" Jessie said. She backed away to summon her felhound.

Rajh lashed out with his flaming sword, badly burning Kai. Misty projected a resistance to fire onto her teammates. The falcon construct went to cast another spell, but Gary countered it. Even though his spell was countered, Rajh still held power over the sun's fire, shaping it into fire tornados that burned viciously through the room. They didn't seem to chase people, but moved randomly, though Jessie at one point had the misfortune of repeatedly choosing to run in the same direction the fire whirl she was trying to escape happened to move in. Nobody would have been able to help her anyway. The tornados were inanimate and incorporeal. Nothing could be done against them except to simply run.

Gary's counterspell was still not ready for casting when Rajh tried something else. He hummed for a moment, gathering energy, and then leapt across the room, landing with a blast wave that very nearly killed Brock. "Guys, I can't be the only one on spell-interruption duty!" the mage said, annoyed.

"Sorry," Jessie said, "I was too busy running from that fire thing to notice that I was supposed to tell my demon to eat his magic."

"Well we can't have such unpredictable interruption. James, you have interruption spells, don't you? Use them," Misty said, healing her shaman friend.

"I can use a silencing shot," Starwisp offered.

"I should have known to use a wind shear on that," Brock admitted. "I thought someone else had it."

"Uh, _now!_" the mage yelled, noticing that Rajh was going to cast another spell. The night elf's silencing shot did its job perfectly, striking the construct in the throat.

The group continued in the way, running from flame tornados, interrupting spells, and pressing on through the scorching strikes of the sunblade. Rajh finally moved to the center of the room.

"Can you feel it? The blessed warmth of the sun…" He raised his hands skyward and began to glow so brightly it hurt to look at him. Repeated blasts of flame like Jessie's hellfire burst out around him. And this time, interrupting him didn't do a thing.

"Just go!" Kai yelled, going into a frenzy. The others followed suit, simply trying to kill the construct before he could kill them. Finally, Rajh fell to his knees.

"Blazing rays of light, take me!"

"Ye've done it! Quickly, come with me!" Brann shouted from the main chamber. The heroes got on the glass elevator and moved up to the third and final floor. The dwarf rushed over to the control panel and started entering data and inserting disks. "I must admit, I couldn't 'a done this one without your help."

"Accessing data… stand by." The machine said.

"Yeah, yeah. Just read the discs and gimme access already…"

"Accessing reorigination device override."

"There we go. That should do it." Brann stepped back, looking pleased.

"Repository access denied. Reorigination subroutine initiated."

The heroes, obviously, began to panic. "What? Wait! That's no good! That's no good at all…!" Brann frantically started pushing buttons.

"Warning! Reorigination device activated. Detonation in one minute."

Everyone went pale. Even Kai turned sooty grey.

"One minute! Come on, Brann! Think!" The dwarf was just as panicked as the rest of them.

"Err, maybe I should go in manually. There has to be a way…!"

"Let me do this," Tracey said, shoving the dwarf aside. Now was no time for politeness. The world depended on how quickly he could move. He began to tear the machine apart, ripping the panels off, prying parts away with his daggers.

"Detonation in thirty seconds."

The panels came off, exposing fuses and wires. The rogue paused, his eyes racing over the internal structure, trying to decipher it. He'd sabotaged machines before, he could dismantle this one, if only he could figure it out…

"Detonation in fifteen seconds."

"_Hurry!_" the entire group screamed at him.

"_I've got it!_" he shouted. He plunged his daggers into the machine and cut several wires.

"Error! Error! Reorigination device detonation aborted! System shutting down."

Misty threw her arms around her friend. "Oh my god, you just saved the world."

"Good job, Tracey," Gary congratulated him. He had to give the rogue credit for the heroic act he'd just performed, but still… he was beginning to get jealous.

Of course, now that he was no longer in a time-pressed life-or-death situation, the rogue cracked. He collapsed to his knees and started laughing – not because it was funny, but because that was the only way he could vent the extreme stress.

"Azeroth lives to see another day!" Bronzebeard cheered. "This calls for a celebration! Dinner and drinks are on me!"

"Give me a minute to reduce my heart rate to something remotely close to normal," the rogue muttered.

After a moment of rest, Quel'Delar's chosen traveled back down to the ground level of the pyramid, then triumphantly out of the Halls of Origination.

The rogue's eyes widened with horror when he saw that they'd been in there much, much longer than he'd expected – it was _night time_. "Uh… g-guys! There's something you should know!" he said hurriedly. "I-I was bitten by a worgen, and-"

He didn't get to finish what he was saying – the full moon came out from behind the clouds.


	55. Dances With Worgen

The worgen's transformation, quick as it was, looked painful, even through the mysterious black smoke and eerie red glow. It was over before the others knew what had happened, and it was announced by a bloodcurdling roar. There was hardly any hint that this feral and vicious beast was their friend Tracey, other than the long tufts of hair he retained over his now loose headband, which was held on only by being tangled in the hairy, lion-like mane that covered his neck and shoulders. There was no hint of sanity in those blood-red eyes, no gleam of recognition. He towered at least a foot over even Starwisp, putting him at almost eight feet tall! His long, pointed ears went back flat against his neck and he snarled viciously, revealing the rest of the long, sharp teeth that backed the three-inch fangs protruding out of his jaw, and raised his clawed hands, each nail a four-inch, razor-sharp spike. He had no need for daggers now.

Somewhere else, another worgen howled, hearing Tracey. "Oh shit, there are more of them!" Ash yelped. He was completely unprepared. So were the others, when the worgen pounced, turning on his own friends, seeing them as nothing more than prey. Misty managed to raise her shield just in time as the massive worgen leapt at her, claws extended, teeth bared, ready to kill. It was only through the Light's blessing that she was able to hold back over two hundred pounds of hungry super-predator, his fangs snapping shut inches from her throat.

Brock came to her aid, rushing toward the wolf man and calling down a massive lightning bolt, bending it to his will to avoid hurting his friend. Tracey – could he even still be called that? – was knocked backwards several feet, but flipped up onto all fours, mane bristling. He launched himself at the shaman, who defended himself with his warhammer. The crunch of small bones breaking was masked by the ear-piercing yelp the beast let out. Still, in a frenzy, almost foaming at the mouth, the worgen continued his relentless and insane assault, as though in the throes of rabies. His claws sent pikachu flying, and it left a trail of blood in the sand when it landed.

Gary was the first one to get over being torn about attacking an ally. Misty and Brock had only defended themselves, but the mage would actively attack. There was nothing left of Tracey in this monster. There was only the hungry wolf, and he would kill them if they didn't kill him first. Gary threw a fireball and a fire blast, followed by a quick pyroblast, and blinked out of the way just in time as the worgen swiped his claws at and tried to bite what was only thin air by the time he reached it. The werewolf whipped around and roared again. He didn't see the mage at first, so attacked the very first creature he laid eyes on: Ash. The arrow Starwisp grazed his neck with did little more than make him angrier when he saw his own blood on the sand. The worgen sliced his own hands open on the warrior's blade and didn't even slow down, tearing gashes right through the boy's bracers and slicing muscle. Ash dropped the blade as he lost his ability to keep a grip on his weapon. The warrior attempted to retreat for a moment. Misty threw a holy shock at him, but failed to defend herself properly as the worgen redirected his attack. His claws went through her steel armor like butter and dug into her lower chest, carving grooves into the ribs his nails ran across. The bones had done their job – he hadn't managed to damage any internal organs. Still, the paladin was in terrible pain. She retaliated, momentarily stunning the worgen with her hammer of justice spell before he was able to bite her.

The girl cast an exorcism while James used death grip to yank the wolf man away. He raised his runeblade and started to swing, but the beast brought its claws up in a wide arc, catching the death knight's arm with such force as to fracture the bone and redirect the swing of the sword harmlessly into the sand. The monster had reduced weakness to Jessie's shadow spells, so she cast soul fire instead. A chill ran down her spine as she heard another howl behind her, loud and clear.

A second worgen, a female in elementium plate armor, darted in front of the heroes on all fours with remarkable speed for something carrying so much weight. She did not attack Quel'Delar's Chosen, and shockingly threw herself at Tracey instead. She took something out of her mouth with her hand mid-leap and held it out like she was going to stab him with it as she flew toward her fellow worgen. He let out a yelp as she hit him with enough force to send them both flying, tumbling across the desert sands while they both snarled and growled viciously at each other, grappling and clawing as they went. She landed on top, pinning him on his back to the ground, teeth bared and glistening with drool in the moonlight.

He growled back at her for a few moments and struggled a bit but he stopped almost immediately when she put her mouth on his neck – for a moment the adventurers thought she'd bit his throat and killed him, but his quiet whine revealed it to instead be a dominance display. _This_ was his _alpha_. Then the male was totally calm. The female, still standing on all fours over him, turned her head to look at the heroes. Again, for a moment they misunderstood her; they thought she was going to attack. Instead, she stood up like a reasonable person and dusted herself off. Tracey didn't move.

"Are you alright?" she asked in a strong Gilnean accent. There was a long pause as Quel'Delar's Chosen tried to take it all in.

"Um. Yes…" the paladin said in a shaky voice. She moved to cast a healing spell.

"No, love, don't heal yourself. I want him to see what he did to you when he comes around." The woman put her hands on her hips.

"What did you do to him?" Ash asked.

"Injected him with tranquilizers and some of Aranas's mandrake potion. He'll wake up in maybe five minutes." After a moment, the worgen cleared her throat.

"Dreadfully sorry, chaps. I should introduce myself." She extended a claw toward Misty, since she was the first one to speak to the worgen, offering it to shake. "Mollie Gee, amateur archaeologist and freelance warrior." The paladin tentatively shook the massive claw, ignoring the pain she was in and blood dripping down through the gashes in her armor. The dazed and trembling adventurers introduced themselves. Then they waited for their newly-sane friend to wake up.

When he came around, Tracey's first reaction was confusion, then horror, then panic. He quickly sat up and looked around, ears flat against his head. Then he saw his friends and his eyes went wide. "Oh my god, did I…?"

"_Yes,_" Mollie Gee growled.

"I-I didn't bite anyone, did I?"

"Almost, but not quite," Ash told him. "Clawed the hell out of us though."

"Look what you did to your friends!" the female worgen scolded, pointing to Misty in particular, with her bloodstained, torn armor. "_Look at them, Tracey!_" The rogue's ears sunk even deeper into his mane, pressed against his neck. Sitting crosslegged, he looked ashamedly at the ground, frowning. "_Look!_" He lifted his eyes guiltily to his friends and whimpered softly. "Oh, don't _you_ whimper at me, you sodding cur! _They're_ the ones who're bleedin'!"

The paladin healed herself, and then she and the shaman started patching up anyone else Tracey had hurt in his rampage. Mollie Gee continued to smack him with the metaphorical rolled-up newspaper.

"Have you learned your lesson yet? Why am I even here bollocking you? You should know better by now! You're like a pup; I shouldn't have to baby you like this, you bloody git! If I hadn't come along you would've killed your own mates! So have you learned your bloody lesson?" The rogue mumbled something unintelligible. "What was that?"

"Yes Mollie Gee," he replied, a little more clearly.

"So take your meds from now on, because I won't always be nearby to put you back in your place!"

"Might I ask why you weren't taking your meds in the first place?" Jessie asked accusingly.

"When I'm not on them, I don't remember anything I did as a worgen…" Tracey replied quietly.

"Grow up, Tracey," the worgen warrior scolded. "And stop living in denial. You are what you are, so you might as well get used to it and get in control of it before you kill someone. You're just being daft by refusing your medication because you don't want to think about what you are. How'd you feel if you came 'round tomorrow morning and found out you'd killed poor Misty here? If I hadn't been around to intervene?"

"I'm sorry…" he whispered. He'd been able to get away with it before, because his isolationist behavior had worked in the past. These old friends of his had talked him into coming with them and when he'd changed there was fresh meat in front of him and that was that. "I understand. I can't afford to be in denial anymore. It just hurts everyone around me."

Mollie Gee calmed down a bit. "Well good. Glad to hear you're comin' to your senses. Now come over here and let your girlfriend mend you."

"Huh?" He looked baffled. Mollie Gee gestured to the paladin. "She's not my girlfriend…" It was not a vigorous denial so much as a statement of confusion.

Gary cleared his throat. "_Actually, _she's _my_ girlfriend." He shot a glare at Tracey, who just seemed puzzled as to what he did to deserve that look.

"Whatever," the female worgen grunted. She paused for a moment. "It's late and you should get some shut-eye. Don't get into any more trouble, Tracey. I'm going to go meet up with the pack; you can come with or you can stay here. It's up to you." She folded her arms over her chest.

"I… I'll stay here… I mean, if you guys still want anything to do with me…"

"No," Gary said. "Go away."

"Don't be a jerk," Misty told him. "He's my friend and he can stay if-"

"_He almost killed you!_"

"He had no control over that, Gary, and you know that! You're just jealous because Mollie Gee thought I was his girlfriend." The paladin folded her arms over her chest. Gary frowned. Misty had hit the nail on the head: he _was_ getting jealous, even though deep down he knew it was mostly irrational.

"Alright, fine. But we're keeping an eye on him from now on."

"Of course we are," Brock said, trying to mediate the situation. "To make sure he takes his medication so we don't have this happen again."

"I don't want to stick around if I'll be trouble for you…" the rogue muttered, his ears still submissively lowered.

"It'll be fine," Ash said, smiling. "Just take your meds and don't try to rip our throats out again."

"Well, cheers then," Mollie Gee said. "It's been lovely to meet you all, though I wish it could have been under better circumstances." Quel'Delar's Chosen said their farewells to Mollie Gee and started setting up a campfire.


	56. Post Traumatic

The adventurers woke up when the sun's light poured through the entrance of the pyramid housing the Halls of Origination. They began their standard morning ritual, the mage conjured breakfast, and so on. The rogue was missing, so Misty went to look for him and make sure he took his medication. She found him a short distance away outside, still curled up like a dog in a shallow ditch dug into the sand, even though he'd shifted back into human form in his sleep when the moon set. She laughed, since he looked quite silly. The sound woke him up.

XXX

"What are you so grumpy about?" Ash asked, then took another bite of the conjured bread.

"Nothing…" the mage muttered, glaring out the entrance of the pyramid jealously. The warrior had a feeling he knew exactly what the problem was, but it was a can of worms he really didn't want to open.

XXX

Tracey gagged on the foul potion, but at least it was out of the way. He wouldn't be a danger to his friends anymore. He sat down in front of an ancient stone wall half buried in the sand, resting his back against it as he put his knees up against his chest and folded his arms over them.

"You're missing breakfast, you know," the paladin told him. He didn't respond. "When's the last time you ate?" Still no reply. She sighed. "You used to be rather… stocky. Now you're thin as a rail. You haven't been eating, have you?" It was more a statement than a question.

Tracey finally replied. "Hell if I know." He did not turn to look at her.

The girl sat next to him, but on the stone wall instead of leaning against it. "I know the feeling."

"No, you don't."

"You think you're the only one Azeroth has broken?" Misty got no response, so she continued. "James spent a good portion of our last trip to Azeroth undead. This world has given Ash a thirst for combat. It's burdened Gary with an addiction to magical energy. It's eroded what little morality Jessie had to begin with. It's seen us all learn to kill and maim without batting an eye." Misty paused for a moment, then added, "For a while, I was a death knight. Not undead, but disguised as such, and a death knight nonetheless. I, too, have been a monster."

There was a long pause. "I've gone longer than I should be able to without food," the rogue said quietly, detachedly. Some of the color drained from the girl's face. The rogue buried his face in his arms. "That means I probably…" He trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. He felt sick to his stomach.

Misty fidgeted nervously. She realized he had meant it literally when he said he had no idea when he'd last eaten. He had no clue what he did while he was a worgen. She tried to comfort him, but her words were just as much meant to comfort herself. The implications were disturbing. "It was probably a camel or something. You don't run into many people out here…"

Tracey simply continued rather than replying. "I didn't know. I didn't know the curse was transmissible by biting. I thought the wound would heal. I didn't think to seek a healer or anything. I didn't know…" Misty couldn't tell if he was trembling or sobbing from the way he was shaking. "I've been so stupid."

"It's not your fault you didn't know."

"And I tried to keep it a secret. I denied it to myself. People are dead because of what I've done."

"You're an assassin, people woul-"

"_Innocent_ people. Because I tried to hide what I am instead of taking my goddamned medication. I almost killed you and Ash and all your friends. I've been so stupid…"

"Tracey, calm down… Come on, you should get something to eat."

"I don't want to eat. I can't eat. I keep remem…" He stopped for a moment to gather himself before he broke down completely. "I-I found out when I woke up with blood everywhere. On my hands, on my face. A half-eaten human corpse next to me." He started crying uncontrollably at that point. The poor boy was traumatized, and rightfully so.

Misty didn't know what to do, and that upset her greatly. As a paladin, the worst pain to her was seeing a friend in trouble and being unable to help. Her own distress was only worsened by not having any clue where to even start. She simply sat there, trying to come up with some way to help, while he wept quietly. _No wonder he didn't want to take his meds,_ she thought_. Every time he shifts, he must have flashbacks to that, and now to what he did to us, too._ It certainly made more sense why he'd refused to take his medication. It wasn't pure selfishness. It was the reflex of a highly traumatized individual trying desperately to avoid another breakdown. It was still a bad idea, as he'd probably killed _more_ people because of it, but certainly wasn't entirely unjustified, either.

"…I nearly killed Gary. I put a sword through his chest." Misty thought perhaps sharing her own traumatic experiences would at least help her friend not feel so alone in his pain. "There's no changing what we've done in the past. But we can determine what we do in the future. You can't go on feeling guilty about what you did. You had no control over it. It's no different than if someone else grabbed your hand and forced you to pull the trigger on a gun. You're not at fault."

"…But I'm a monster…" the rogue mumbled almost inaudibly.

"Aren't we all?" Misty replied bitterly. She sighed. "Anyway, I forgive you. If only you would forgive yourself…" She got up. "Come join the group when you're ready. We'll wait for you."

XXX

"Where were you?" Gary demanded, meeting the paladin just outside the pyramid. The others were still inside.

"Being an amateur therapist for Tracey." Misty sighed tiredly, still troubled by her friend's deep psychological issues.

"Oh, _therapy,_ is it?" He folded his arms over his chest and gritted his teeth.

The paladin was shocked. "What are you saying?"

"… Nothing." Gary looked at the ground, frowning. "You just spend so much time with him."

She rolled her eyes. "You're being irrational. He's my friend. You never get upset when I spend time with Ash. Why's Tracey any different?"

"When you spend time with Ash, you don't forget about _me._"

"I don't forget about you!"

"Well you certainly haven't been paying very much attention to me, ever since he showed up! Don't forget that I have feelings too." The mage's expression changed from resentment to depression.

"You've been feeling neglected, is that it?" Misty's anger turned to guilt. Gary didn't reply or even nod, but something about his expression acted as a confirmation. "Why didn't you tell me? I'm sorry…" She hugged him.

"I haven't got an answer to that," he replied, just standing there instead of returning the hug. After a moment, he put his arms around her too, and they just stood there, embracing.

Finally, the rogue rejoined the main party. He was still rather detached and distant, and wouldn't look anyone in the eyes, but at least he'd vented. He felt significantly better after crying like that, releasing his pent-up emotions.

"Well, what now?" Starwisp asked. As if on cue, a pigeon fluttered down with a message tied to its leg. The night elf took it off and unfolded it. "What the-? This doesn't make sense."

"Let me see it." She handed the message to Tracey. "It's rogues' code. I understand it just fine. And of course, it's addressed to me. That's what the references to Tea being Splendid mean: T.S.. As in Tracey Sketchit. Anyway, we should go to Stormwind. There's some trouble brewing – pardon the pun."


	57. Something is Rotten in Stormwind

"Wonder what's going on," Gary muttered, as he and the others walked toward Stormwind Keep.

"We'll see," Ash told him. The rogue didn't say anything.

"Do you think the guards will know who we are this time, or will I have to go get Katherine again?" Misty wondered aloud.

"That won't be necessary," Tracey told her. The guards told them to halt, but the rogue pulled out a small badge of some sort and showed it to them. They lowered their weapons and let him pass. "They're with me," the assassin said, gesturing to the others. Once again, the adventurers found themselves in the Throne Room of Stormwind. They knelt before the King.

"A little bird told me you'd sent for me, Your Majesty," the rogue said. "By name."

Varian smiled. "Ah, you must be Tracey Sketchit. We are pleased that you have answered our summons, rogue. You may stand." He looked over the other heroes. "I must admit," he continued, still smiling, "I didn't expect you to be with Quel'Delar's Chosen. It seems Kanto produces the best heroes of all sorts. This is already turning out much better than I had hoped." Varian gestured to Anduin. Ash didn't react so negatively to him now that he wasn't eyeing Zaraia like he had been the first time they'd met. "Great burdens have been placed on my son's shoulders in his short lifetime, and I fear his responsibilities are only going to grow. He will never learn leadership confined to the keep, but I am loath to send him forth without escort. Your deeds in the wake of this cataclysm are already legendary. You would be excellent mentors for young Prince Anduin. As for you, Tracey… There is some pressing city business that you can attend to for me."

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Anduin said, waving to the heroes. "I'm pretty surprised you guys came back from Kanto. Is everything alright in your world?"

"Since we've fixed the problem in Deepholm, yes," Brock replied.

"What's it like to be a shaman?" the Prince asked. "How big is the World Tree? What was Vashj'ir like? Is it cold in Deepholm? Oh, I have so many questions!"

"One question at a time, Your Highness," Gary said, grinning.

Tracey listened to King Varian's request. "The city is still reeling from the seditious acts of the Twilight's Hammer in recent months. They prey on peasant fears and corrupt our most important citizens. We need to find out how deep the conspiracy runs, and Shaw told me of your skill. I've tasked Major Samuelson of the Stormwind City Guard to head up an investigation. That's him over there. See if you can assist his efforts. I'm sure he'll need the assistance of an accomplished rogue like you."

"Of course, Your Majesty." The rogue bowed his head respectfully and went to speak with Samuelson. The King turned his attention to the rest of Quel'Delar's Chosen.

"It's good to see you're all well. I'm sure Anduin will learn a lot by shadowing you. You're remarkably talented heroes, but close enough in age to him to form a real connection. I'd like you to take him around the city. To be more specific... I am amassing a warfleet to assault Twilight Highlands and bring an end to Deathwing's lackeys. My soldiers are ready but fleet preparations lag behind. My men at the docks need some inspiration and motivation. A visit from the Prince here should lift their spirits and remind them of the bright future they're fighting for. Take Prince Anduin to the docks with you and speak with Supply Sergeant Graves. I want Anduin to observe how a natural leader handles the situation."

Samuelson raised an eyebrow. "Hmmm, yes? My investigation of the Twilight's Hammer. Of course. Your assistance will be valuable." He scratched his chin. "My investigations reveal, ah, it's likely that there's trouble brewing among the Stormwind dock workers. Shifty lot. Don't trust 'em. You should go there and shake the place down. Start grilling those longshoremen. That should keep you busy." Tracey stared for a moment, a slight frown on his face, not sure if he should trust the man. Samuelson shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "What are you waiting for? Go rout out those Twilight infidels!"

"Come with us, Your Highness," Misty said.

The King gave them one last reminder. "Remember, stay within the city's borders. Keep him out of trouble. And above all else, guard him with your lives." He looked his son in the eyes. "Anduin, no adventures! Stay close to Quel'Delar's Chosen. In the event of an attack, stay near Misty; she'll protect you. And return to the keep at the first chance, should you see any trouble."

As soon as they were out of the keep and beyond the guards' earshot, Anduin turned to the assassin. "This is so exciting! I never get to talk to Stormwind's rogues. You're all so quiet and secretive. Mister Sketchit, can I help you with your investigation of the Twilight's Hammer? We don't have to tell my father."

"Please, call me Tracey. And no, it's too dangerous. The King would have me skinned alive if you got hurt because of me."

"Oh, come on, Tracey. He's got all of us to protect him. The chances of him coming to any harm while with the whole lot of us are zero to none. There's not a safer group to be with in all of Azeroth," the paladin said.

"You guys stay with him." The rogue pulled his mask and hood up. "I need to be on my own for this."

As the heroes arrived at the docks – with Tracey taking an alternate route – the paladin took a deep breath of the sea air. She never tired of visiting Stormwind Harbor. Gary was in a great mood too, having at least temporarily gotten rid of the rogue. He held Misty's hand, making sure to make the best of the time he had with her without distractions.

"Aww, you two are a couple? That's cute," the Prince commented.

"You'll find someone too, someday, to be your queen," Gary replied.

"You're _my_ Prince Charming, that's for sure," the paladin said quietly to the mage.

"And you're my knight in shining armor," he replied. The young sorcerer chuckled softly. "That's not something I ever thought I'd say, but it's true in the most literal sense."

"Oh come on, you guys. In front of Prince Anduin? Really? You choose _now_ to be lovebirds?" Ash said. "Just shoot me now, Starwisp. Save me the pain." Anduin laughed.

Meanwhile, the rogue was already down on the docks, interrogating the workers. None of them seemed to know anything, though they were terrified out of their wits by the masked, dagger-wielding figure asking about the Twilight's Hammer.

Supply Sergeant Graves bowed to the Prince and his escorts. "Please understand, Your Highness, the men are working double-shifts. The scale of your father's operation is enormous. But we will endeavor to wrap things up. I give you my word." Graves looked at Gary. "Look here, if you want to help speed things up around here, get Flintlocke off my back. A whole shipment of siege engine parts was misplaced and now it's scattered all up and down the dock. Gather up the missing parts and get them to Flintlocke so he can finish construction. He's just across the road from me, waiting. And he's a bit… crazy."

"Do you have to gather objects a lot?" Anduin asked.

The whole group replied in unison: "This happens a lot. Get used to it."

XXX

_This doesn't make sense,_ Tracey thought. _Why would Samuelson send me out here on a wild goose chase?_ _Something doesn't feel right. I should look deeper into this._

XXX

Fargo Flintlocke, a dwarf sporting a giant black beard and wearing bright green goggles, leaned against an eagle tank. He burped loudly as the heroes approached. "Oh! Aye!" he said, of his own belch.

"Classy," Jessie said sarcastically, a disdainful sneer on her face.

"He's a dwarf; what do you expect?" Starwisp said, rolling her eyes.

Flintlocke looked at them. "Eh wot? My parts. Where are they? You can't build a tank without parts! If yeh did, it'd be small. An' mostly inner-fectual."

"Here," Brock told him. He and Kai handed over the crates of parts.

"Oh aye, 'ere's the stuff." Flintlocke stuck his head all the way into one of the crates. "But where's me powder? Everything's here but for the powder. I need explosives, man! You tell the King, no powder, no power. I need me some kersplosions or I ain't leavin' port."

"I like this guy," Gary said. "Anyone who makes things go kaboom is good in my book."

"How's it going?" a familiar voice said. Gary gritted his teeth. _Oh, hell, he's back._

"Just fine!" the mage replied, making sure the rogue saw him putting his arm around the paladin.

"Except for the missing powder," the dragon boy said, putting his hand on his chin. "Any luck finding anything from the dock workers?" Tracey shook his head.

"Well," Starwisp said, "we should take you back to the Keep, Your Highness."

"I'm not quite ready to go back just yet. Would you like to help me with something? Recently some of the local farmers were petitioning the King about some missing livestock. My father promised someone would investigate, but the city guard is stretched so thin it'll take weeks. I thought I would help! It'll encourage the farmers to see someone take action, especially from the royal family. Besides, it's just some missing cows. Nothing dangerous."

"Well… how far away? King Varian said not to leave the city," Ash said.

"Just up next to the lake north of the Dwarven District."

"Isn't that _outside_ the city walls?" James asked.

"Well, yes, technically, but so's this Harbor. It's still considered within the city. Come on!"

"Alright," Starwisp said hesitantly. "But you stay _close_."

Quel'Delar's Chosen went up the massive stairways into Stormwind proper and then around the canals to the lightly forested area with a small farm. The farmer dropped to his knee when he saw the prince. "Y-y-your Highness!"

"You may rise. I'm here to see about the missing cows."

The farmer tried to pull himself together. "Cows? You're asking about the missing livestock? Well, um… I normally just let the cows graze north of the house here. Occasionally one gets spirited away. Leaves a trail of gore. Who would do such a thing? I'm afraid to follow that trail myself... something sick is happening in Stormwind!"

"Team Rocket, take Prince Anduin back to the King," Misty ordered.

"Oh, relax," Ash said, "it's probably just a bear or something. He'll be fine with us."

"Be on your guard," Gary muttered. He led the way, following the spatters of blood, flesh, and guts. The stench of rotting meat filled the air.

"I don't like this; this is a bad idea; I have a terrible feeling about this!" the paladin protested. The forest seemed much darker than it should. The heroes followed the bloody trail around a tree, and then they stopped in their tracks. There was a blood-covered altar in front of them, with skulls and candles all around it. Misty grabbed the Prince by the wrist. "We're taking you back to the keep, _right now!_"

"No you aren't!" someone shouted. The paladin was knocked to the ground by a shadow spell.

"Misty!" the mage cried out.

"I'm fine; protect the Prince!"

Anduin said a magic word – a Power Word – and a shield of light surrounded him. The paladin got to her feet and retaliated against her attacker with a powerful bolt of holy magic. Another cultist came out of the forest, then a third. Gary cast a flamestrike at them. Ash charged into battle, both swords held high. James used a death grip spell to yank one cultist toward him as a fourth appeared. Jessie started channeling a rain of fire. Tracey vanished and came out of the shadows moments later, dagger ready, and he grabbed a cultist from behind before he swiftly plunged his dagger into her throat. Starwisp's aimed shot killed a cultist that had been weakened by Meowth's arcane shot. More cultists were coming out of the woods – it was a perfect ambush. Kai took his dragon form and tore the Twilight Cultists limb from limb. Brock cast chain lightning that bounced from one cultist to another, and pikachu followed suit. It didn't take long to kill all the cultists.

"Your Highness, are you alright?" Ash asked.

"I'm fine. Wow! You guys were incredible! I can't believe you stood your ground against so many at once. It looks like this site was used for some kind of twisted Twilight's Hammer initiation ritual. They're definitely active in Stormwind. What's this?" He rushed over to the altar before Misty could hold him back. He held up a badge with an axe and a hammer crossed on it. "I bet if we look for more clues we can discover some important stuff." He paused. "You know, It almost seems like Samuelson is trying to intentionally waste your time. The dockworkers don't know anything. More importantly, explosives are missing from Stormwind Harbor! You know what I think? I bet Samuelson knows more than he's letting on. He probably has a lead on Twilight's Hammer and wants all the credit and glory for himself. We should-"

"_No,_" Tracey interrupted, "_we_ are not going to do anything. _You_ are going back to Stormwind Keep, and _I_ am going to look through Samuelson's files at SI:7. I have access, and furthermore I'm expendable. Nobody cares if some rogue from Kanto dies trying to save the city, but the Prince… Ash, Misty, escort him back. I'm going to SI:7 headquarters to discuss this with Shaw. The rest of you can come with me I suppose, but I don't know if they'll let you in."

Sure enough, the SI:7 rogues let Tracey in when he showed them his badge, but wouldn't let the others pass. They simple had to wait for him outside. Misty and Ash returned from the keep, secure in the knowledge that the Prince was no longer their responsibility and they could go back to doing what they did best: thwarting the plans of evil.

Tracey eventually returned, a troubled look on his face. "This is _really_ suspicious. Samuelson doesn't have a shred of info here about the Twilight Hammer – it's almost like he's not investigating them at all. Yet he's got a complete catalog of the missing explosives. What's more…" He pulled something out of his pocket. "I found _this._" He held the thing out for the others to see. It was a badge, just like the one Anduin had found.

"What's it mean?" Brock asked.

"I asked Matthias Shaw about it. He said he recognized the symbol from before Deathwing's attack on Stormwind. It belonged to the soldiers at the barracks that has been destroyed – up near what was once the Park District."

Gary sighed. How sad that the Park had been destroyed. He remembered when he was first starting to fall for Misty, during the plague lockdown, when they'd been in the Park District. How the moonwell's light made her even prettier than she was normally. He always thought of that as the moment he'd really started to truly fall in love with her, even though he'd had a small crush on her before, and didn't really admit his feelings to himself until a little while later. He didn't want to see that place destroyed, but it looked like he had no choice.

"Anyway, he sent one of his other top agents, Jack Bauden, in to infiltrate the Twilight's Hammer, and he disappeared. Shaw says that the barracks is probably where the cultists are hiding, and we should see about rescuing Jack while we're in there."

The adventurers walked to the ruins of the Park District. On the way, Starwisp said to the rogue, "So, you're a member of SI:7. That's impressive."

"Not really," he replied, humbly. "It's a pretty big organization. Can we not talk about it? You never know who's watching – or who might want you dead."

"There it is," Brock said, "the old barracks."

The building was charred, blacked with soot. Some of the stones had fallen away into the sea – the whole Park District had been destroyed and simply fallen down, leaving paths jutting out into empty space over a gaping hole in the city, where the ocean quickly surged in at the bottom of the cliffs. Nothing of the Park District stuck out above the water. The sea had simply swallowed it up.

"Well how do we get in?" Ash asked. The entrance had been in the now-destroyed district.

"We climb that thing," Gary replied, pointing to a large fallen beam, which leaned against a hole in the wall and the ground nearby, creating a ramp. "Everyone prepare for combat. We don't know how many cultists might be in there."


	58. Documents

The mage led the way, Quel'Delar at the ready, absol at his side. The trainer and his pokemon ran up the ramp and jumped down on the other side, over the cracked stone wall. Most of the floorboards were intact and still perfectly secure. Jack Bauden was tied to a chair in the corner, unconscious. Gary was going to go free him when absol began to bark. The mage spun around just in time to see a Twilight Cultist come out of the shadows with a terrifying serrated dagger. Gary reacted quickly, throwing a pyroblast and ordering his pokemon to attack. Absol yelped as the dagger plunged into its shoulder, but despite the blood pouring from the pokemon's wound, it clamped its jaws shut on the woman's throat.

Misty jumped down as two more cultists arrived, ready for battle. Her Light banished the shadows of the room, allowing her friends to see clearly as they arrived. Her holy radiance kept them healed, and the best part was that she didn't have to channel it. She was free to attack. She threw a holy shock at one of the insane cultists. Vaporeon joined the assault with an ice type attack.

"You guys free him, I'm going to clear this place out entirely!" Ash said. "Who's with me?" Team Rocket agreed and went up the stairs with him, Meowth and Starwisp in tow, to kill whatever cultists were hiding. They would not allow the city to be a safe haven for evil.

The last cultist fell quickly to the shaman's primal strike, and the rogue cut the ropes that held his fellow agent captive. The shaman used his water-based healing to try to bring the man back around. The SI:7 member woke up and tried to make sense of the world around him. "What are you doing here?"

"Rescuing you," Gary told him.

"I'm SI:7 Agent Jack Bauden," he began. He wasn't sure if these people knew who he was.

"Agent Tracey Sketchit, right here," the rogue said, cutting the last rope and stepping out in front of Jack. "They know who you are."

"I should have guessed it would be you. Look, we haven't got much time. I've uncovered the Twilight's Hammer plot. They've been stealing and stockpiling explosives coming into Stormwind harbor. Somehow, they've gotten access to the catacombs underneath the Cathedral of Light."

"The Cathedral?" Misty cried out in shock.

"I've heard talk of someone called 'The Black Bishop,'" Jack continued.

"I'll warn the-" the rogue started, frowning.

"There's no time to warn the guard, Tracey! You and your friends have got just minutes to get into the catacombs and disarm that bomb. Go! Now! Or _thousands _of people will die!"

"Ash! You guys need to get down here _now!_ There's an emergency!" Gary yelled as loud as he could. It didn't take long for the other party members to join up – those who were on the lowest level were already leaving.

"Everybody mount up!" The paladin summoned her charger. "You do have a horse or something, right Tracey?"

"Um, no…"

"Oh, god damn it!"

"No, it's not a problem. I'll… be able to keep up." Tracey took a deep breath. Worgen could shift at will during the day. They couldn't stop themselves from shifting when it would happen normally, but they could choose to do it on purpose at any other time they pleased. "I really didn't want to do this…" He shut his eyes tightly and forced himself to shapeshift, trying not to think about what he was doing.

The others were already on their horses. "Okay, go!" The rogue, now in worgen form, would lope along on all fours. He wasn't just able to keep up with the horses, he was actually outpacing them! There was a reason worgen walked upright but ran on all fours – the faster he ran, the easier it was to maintain speed. This was a good time for it – with the Cathedral at risk, Tracey had other things on his mind to keep him distracted from being a worgen.

The heroes leapt off their mounts outside the Cathedral of Light and ran as fast as they could into it. Misty showed them exactly where the catacombs were. The rogue didn't even bother to stop running on all fours or leave worgen form. It would help him in combat. Now was no time for shame. Quel'Delar's Chosen didn't stop to tell the priests what was going on. Misty was at the front of the rushed adventuring group, so they knew something serious was happening.

The heroes didn't even slow down to kill the brainwashed Twilight Cult servants or their more dangerous leaders. Those that got in the way were swiftly cut down by the paladin's sword, and she didn't even stop to kill them. She simply cut their throats on the way by.

Sure enough, there was a pile of explosives tucked into the very back chamber, right under the church. A man had just lit the fuse, a man dressed all in black. He turned. His eyes gleamed with insanity. "The game is afoot! But you are a mere pawn, whereas I am… _the black bishop!_"

"So if I stand on a different colored tile than you, you can't hurt me?" Gary replied, already preparing a frostbolt – this was not a good situation to use fire in. The worgen didn't even slow down. He just let his combat instincts take over and launched himself, claws outstretched, at the bishop. The man teleported diagonally across the chamber. Tracey smashed into the wall with a yelp and lay still.

Brock tried to heal his friend while the paladin threw her pokeball. "Vaporeon, hydro pump on the explosives, now!"

The black bishop teleported back over and grabbed the pokemon by the throat. "Bishop threatens pawn…!"

"Checkmate, asshole!" the mage shouted, hitting the man with an ice lance.

"The game isn't over yet!" The black bishop teleported, with the struggling pokemon, and moved to smash its head into the wall.

"_No!_" Misty screamed, throwing her most powerful holy shock yet, followed by a hammer of justice. The dark priest dropped the vaporeon. The pokemon gasped for air.

James ran over behind the stunned man and drove his empowered runeblade through the man's back. "_Pawn takes bishop._"

Brock ran over to the fuse. It was about to reach the bomb. He cast a water spell at it, drowning the spark just before it would have reached the explosives. Stormwind was saved.

Tracey took his human form again, clutching a wound that hadn't totally been healed. He'd hit the wall pretty hard. Misty went to heal him while Jessie looked at the explosives more carefully. "There are papers of all sorts here. I think they were trying to destroy all the evidence with the Cathedral." She dug through them. "Oh, look here. This one's from Samuelson. He was one of the masterminds behind this plot. We have our proof…"

"Look at this." Gary picked up another sheet. "Oh, god damn it. This is a map of Kanto." The others looked over his shoulder hurriedly. The map was crudely drawn, but it had all the major cities. Particularly, Indigo Plateau and Pallet Town were circled in red and labeled 'VERY DANGEROUS'. More disturbingly, Fuchsia City's Safari Zone was marked in bright blue, and labeled 'POWERFUL DRAGONS HERE' and a date was listed for a raid – that day's date.

XXX

"Ah, back so soon? Did you find anything from the dockworkers?" Major Samuelson asked.

"It's over, Samuelson. We know your secret. We know who you are and we put a stop to your little Cathedral scheme," Misty said, drawing her sword and pointing it at his throat.

Samuelson knelt. "Yes... It's all true. I am not ashamed. The powers I submit to make mortal kings look like insects." He suddenly drew a hidden dagger and jumped to his feet. "But I am not yet finished. Death to the King!"

"Father, watch out!" Anduin shouted. Samuelson jumped at the King, but the Prince was able to cast his power word of shielding on him just in time. The shield protected him and Varian swung his sword at his attacker, who jumped backwards out of the way.

Samuelson ran to the center of the room and started to channel a dark spell which Gary's counter was useless against. The man floated up into the air with purple magic swirling around him. "Gods of shadow, lords of twilight ... give me strength!" Samuelson transformed into a hideous monster, a faceless thing like the ones the heroes had seen in Hyjal, the ones that had bled saronite.

"Kill it!" the guards shouted, attacking. Samuelson, even in his twisted form, didn't even get to really attack. The full group of royal guards, combined with the might of all of Quel'Delar's Chosen, was more than enough to take him down.

"Samuelson - corrupted by the Twilight's Hammer? This must have been going on for years. Right here in my very keep!" Varian seemed shocked. "I am grateful that you and my son were able to get to the bottom of this before my city was brought to harm. I've underestimated how much Anduin has grown – his command of the Holy Light just saved my life, if not the entire kingdom. As for you – words alone can't do justice to your heroism this day. Thank you."

"Okay, gotta go; homeworld's under attack by Twilight Cultists," Gary said, conjuring a portal right there. "Hopefully this will land us somewhere near Fuchsia City."


	59. Twilight Zone

"Well, this isn't right," Brock commented. The portal had dropped the adventurers in a big city.

"Jeez, when you said you can't aim those things, you meant it," Ash muttered.

Gary looked around in confusion. "Where the hell… _Oh shit, this is freakin' Saffron City! _We're _miles_ away!"

A young boy, maybe seven years old, with dark skin, red eyes, and black hair, in a black t-shirt and jeans, knelt behind a sign and silently watched them. Tori sniffed the air, smelling something familiar. She caught a glimpse of the boy at the moment he knew he'd been detected, and he turned and ran down an alley.

"Okay, the fastest way to Fuchsia would be to fly," James pointed out, "but I don't think there are enough fliers to carry us all. We have what, pidgeot, charizard, and Kai?"

By this time, people were stopping to stare at the strangely-dressed people and their night elf companion, most of them fearful. "Yeah, what are you looking at?" Jessie snapped.

"We're not Twilight Cultists," Brock assured the onlookers.

"Well, there are eight of us, right? And three fliers," Ash said. "Pidgeot and charizard have carried three of us at once before, and Kai can carry two more. That covers everyone."

"True I suppose," the death knight said.

Kai shifted into his drake form. The people who'd been watching screamed and scattered. A black dragon had been seen in Saffron City exactly once, and it had claimed the lives of twelve people. "I'm not with the damn cultists!" the dragon snapped.

Misty suddenly looked around fearfully. "Where's Tori? I can't find her anywhere!"

"Oh shit!" Some of the color drained from Gary's face. "We didn't leave her in Azeroth did we?"

"No, I saw her over here when we came through," Tracey said. "She can't be far!"

"Oh, god, she's on her own in this giant city!" The paladin was quickly starting to panic.

Gary grabbed her shoulders and forced her to stay still. "Don't. _Panic!_" he insisted. "We'll find her; it's okay!"

"We haven't got time! Who knows when the Twilight Cult will strike!" Ash said. "Do you really want to be fighting Twilight Dragonites later?"

"_We can't just leave her-_"

"We'll come back for the whelp later," Tracey interrupted. "Right now we have to stop the Twilight's Hammer. The whelp isn't going to leave the city; it's too big. We'll come back afterwards and enlist the help of Officer Jenny and any helpful citizens to track your dragon down. We have to focus on what's important!"

Gary gritted his teeth for a moment. He couldn't believe what he was going to say. "Tracey's right. Now let's go. The faster we thwart the Cult's plans, the faster we can find the whelp." Ash let his charizard out. At the same time, Gary called out his pidgeot. As he did so, he muttered to the rogue, "I had it under control. I can calm _my girlfriend_ down just fine. _You_ don't need to get involved, fleabag." Tracey looked surprised, confused, and offended all at once, but stayed quiet. The mage made a bit of a show of helping Misty get onto Kai's back, then climbing up behind her. Starwisp got on behind him. The other six got onto the two pokemon. The three massive fliers took to the sky.

Kai looked for the sun. "The sun rises in the east in Kanto, right? And sets in the west?" Gary confirmed this. "What direction are we supposed to be going?"

"South."

Kai circled some more. "Alright, this way!" And he proceeded due south.

As they flew, Gary patted the paladin's shoulder. "I'm sure Tori will be just fine."

"_Shut up_, Gary."

The mage was shocked! "Misty…?" He blinked a few times in disbelief. "What did I…?"

"I don't know what's gotten into you. You're acting like you're ten again! You're being a complete jerk! You need to get over your damn ego. You're being an aggressive asshole for no good reason! Stop being a clingy, jealous-"

"Well if _he'd _stop _flirting_ with you-!"

"_He's not! We're just __**friends**__, Gary!_"

"Well maybe that's what you think, but how do you know what's going on in _his_ head?"

"Don't you trust me? Don't you trust me not to betray you?" she wasn't screaming – no, she wasn't being loud enough for that. The rest of the group didn't need to know about this. But her tone suggested that if they were alone, she would be.

"Now is not the time for this!" Starwisp snapped.

There was a long silence. "I'm sorry," Gary said quietly. "I'll try not to be so… aggressive. I can't promise I won't be jealous, but I'll try to contain it."

Misty was silent for a few minutes in anger; Gary knew he deserved it. "…That's not enough," she finally told him.

He was silent for a long time. "Misty, you're right. I'm also sorry for doubting you." _Damn,_ he thought, _I'm going to be buying her roses for a week. She's never been this mad at me._

"That's better." But she still seemed irritated at him.

"You done with your lovers' quarrel up there?" Kai asked his riders. "It's like I'm carrying a dramatic ladies' theater production on my back."

"Kai, don't encourage them. You're pouring fuel on the fire," Starwisp chastised. Misty and Gary were just silent for the rest of the flight.

Eventually, the fliers soared over the Safari Zone. Unfortunately, it seemed that the Twilight's Hammer was not the only organization planning a raid on the area. "Oh no…" Jessie muttered. She and James had been in Azeroth, and so had not been informed of Team Rocket's plan to try to capture rare dragon pokemon there.

"We have to convince them to leave before the Twilight Cultists arrive," James said. His eyes were wide, but aside from that he remained as calm and stoic as he ever had been since his transformation into a death knight.

The fliers swooped in to land.

"What kind of pokemon is that?" One of the grounded Rockets asked her ally.

"Jeez, do you think maybe it's true? Isn't that a black dragon like they say what's his name, Deathwing, is?" he replied.

"Don't be an idiot! The Boss says that kind of dragon doesn't exist. There's only dragon-type pokemon."

James shouted as loud as he could. "You all have to leave! Abandon this raid, as soon as possible! The Twilight's Hammer is going to attack this very place sometime today!"

"Aw, James," one of the other Rockets said. "You don't really believe that crap do ya?"

"We don't just _believe_ it," Jessie said, "we _know_ it all to be true. We've not only seen Twilight Cultists and their dragons, we've _fought them ourselves._"

A male Rocket ignored what she was saying. "Yo, Jess, is that a corset?" He let out a sharp whistle. James pointed his runeblade at the other man, not taking kindly to people treating his very best friend this way.

"It is. And if you, without her permission, so much as lay a hand on her, I'll sever it from your arm."

"Lord, where'd you get a sword, man?"

"Doubt our words if you will," Gary threatened, "but the Twilight's Hammer will offer no mercy! They are coming, whether you believe it or not! Heed our warning, if you value your lives."

"Oh, ain't you Oak's grandkid?" a woman called out.

"I am. And I am also a powerful sorcerer, so be careful what you say to me."

"You're nuts! Just like your _mama was!_" The Rocket with prematurely gray hair didn't know when to shut up. Gary went white as a sheet. "Oh, that's right, you probably don't remember. You were just a little baby when she died!"

"How do you know anything about my mother?" Gary growled.

"She turned her back on us when she met your goody-two-shoes daddy, the traitor. That's why we killed her. What, you didn't know? Did your grandpa tell you little lies about how your precious mommy died? Is the little baby wanna-be wizard gonna cry?"

Well, apparently the ley lines were stronger there, because Gary threw a pyroblast to end all pyroblasts at that woman. She screamed as the fire charred her skin and clothing, burning away her hair. Gary's rather one-sided 'duel' with the Rocket was interrupted, however. Someone screamed.

"Oh my god, they're telling the truth!"

Even in his anger, the mage was distracted by panic as a shadow fell over him. A fully grown twilight dragon, accompanied by two drakes, with several cultists on their backs, hovered over the Safari Zone.

One woman in particular seemed to lead them. She called out from atop the twilight wyrm. "The Dark Master calls for more servants! The dragons of your world will serve the Old Gods and ascend to shadow! Join us and take part in the glorious destruction of all! Ak'agthshi ma uhnish, ak'uq shg'cul vwahuhn! H'iwn iggksh Phquathi gag oou kaaxth shuul!"


	60. Hour of Rockets

Team Rocket had never dealt with anything like those dragons before. A fully grown Twilight Wyrm was as capable of destruction as Mewtwo, the most dangerous thing the team had ever handled, but far more malicious. Like Mewtwo, they were artificial creatures, made by twisting and distorting the essence of a creature of good, but there were two key distinctions. First, Mewtwo had been held back by his creators, to be used as a precise weapon, and eventually turned against them of his own will, but the Twilight Dragonflight was created with the sole purpose of_ intentionally_ being let loose on the world to _destroy it entirely_. Second, there was only _one_ Mewtwo.

Naturally, the thugs had no idea what to do. They hadn't even believed in such monsters before – what evidence was there to convince them to? Now, it had all come back to bite them.

Brock called out his onix. It had proven itself in combat against dragons before. Resistant to flame and claw, and large enough to give even fully grown wyrms pause, it could hold its own against several drakes. His other pokemon were of little use in a fight with dragons. It would be best to leave them out, for their own safety.

Ash's charizard seemed thrilled to encounter twilight drakes. Worthy opponents, indeed! One of the drakes dropped off its Cultists and took to the sky. The fire pokemon quickly followed. The drake grinned darkly and led the pokemon onward, taunting it, wearing it down.

The Rockets began to panic and look for a way to escape or hide. Jessie and James, however, simply prepared for battle, calling out their pokemon. They had their eyes on their chosen target already – the great wyrm. They'd fought enough dragons in their time. Now was the perfect opportunity to show the rest of their team that they were not to be mocked. All their experience would be put to use.

The cultists the first drake had dropped off were already beginning to attack. Since this point in Kanto was a ley line hotspot, their magic functioned just as well as Gary's. Misty projected an aura of shadow resistance to protect her friends and stood back, watching and waiting. She could not get involved in the combat – someone would need healing soon, and she had to be paying attention. The warrior charged into combat, followed by his pokemon. Pikachu was battle-hardened, but it would be the first time bulbasaur and squirtle would _truly_ experience the might and horror of the Twilight's Hammer. The paladin let her pokemon join in. Vaporeon and Starmie had fought before. They would need no instruction.

The second drake dropped its passengers and clashed with Kai. "The hour of Twilight may yet come… but not today!" the black drake hissed.

"Arbok, attack its heels – avoid the tail!" the warlock instructed. She applied her dark curses, slowly draining away her target's strength, weakening it, hurting it. Next, she set the dragon's scales ablaze. Flames licked over the purple body. This spell would be a catalyst for further damage. Meanwhile, her partner in crime would distract the beast. He dodged a swipe of its claws and cast his blood magic on the wyrm. He looked it in the eyes as he threw a frost spell at its delicate nose.

Some of the other Rockets watched in mixed horror and awe. Peeking out from behind rocks, they watched the combat unfold. The duo they had once mocked now completely upstaged them. The fools had become fierce.

The mage purposely separated himself from the others, trying to draw many cultists toward him. He cast his living bomb spell on many of them and summoned a ball of fire. Just as he would have been attacked, he blinked past them. He could feel his mana draining quickly. The pyroblast he'd unleashed earlier had taken its toll on Gary, and the weakness of the ley lines even here presented a problem. "Kill them," was his only instruction as he let his pokemon onto the field of battle. Umbreon and absol were perfectly in their element fighting the users of shadow. "We all know," the mage said, "that in the end, the night swallows up the twilight." He instructed pidgeot to help charizard and Kai, and his ninetales was simply left to its own devices. Gary returned to casting spells, throwing a blast wave and flamestrike before calling a rain of ice.

The rogue only let one pokemon out to fight. Marill and venonat were not suited to fighting cultists, but scyther was practically made for war, old though it was. It longed for blood on its blades and the thrill of combat. Humans would not normally satisfy it, but _these_ humans had magic. That made them fair targets. A cultist tried to attack the shaman from behind, but never got a chance. Tracey pulled the same stunt faster, gutting the hapless shadow-worshipper. He wasn't used to large-scale combat, but he could still pick off targets one by one.

Meowth climbed the wyrm's back and buried his dagger between the scales on the monster's shoulders. It howled in pain and tried to shake the little creature off, but he held on, digging his claws in. The dragon took a deep breath. Some of the rockets looked away, others found that they could not. Frozen by fear, they stared on. Even they knew the dragon was about to use some sort of breath weapon, and James would be right in the path. Sure enough, twilight fire blasted out of the dragon's mouth, engulfing the death knight. James knew what he was doing, though, and had protected himself with an anti-magic shield.

Ash swung his swords in every direction, surrounded by cultists. Their shadow magic seared his skin, their knives found weak points in his armor, but he stood strong through it all. As long as the paladin kept him healed, he would fight on. Brock stood back to protect the girl. She couldn't heal and defend herself at the same time, especially if the cultists interrupted her spells. The shaman put down totems to provide mana and summon the help of a pair of elementals, fire and earth. He decided to let his geodude join the fight as well – it wasn't all that different from the earth elemental, anyway.

Kai endured the pain of twilight fire, repeatedly grappling and escaping from his deep blue opponent. The twilight drake locked talons with him again, and he blasted it with flames as they clawed at one another. The twilight drake broke free and tried to escape. Kai dove after it and, missing his first attack with his forelegs, caught the other dragon's flank and tore it open on the way by with a well-placed kick. An arrow struck the corrupted dragon, putting poison into its veins. Starwisp readied another shot.

Pidgeot's attack hit exactly where it was aiming – the reddish twilight drake's head. The dragon swerved, but then located the source of its pain. Flying up at a shocking speed, it caught the bird pokemon and bit down on the wing, ripping a chunk of flesh away. Blood splashed down onto the combatants below. The bird and the dragon fell, claws locked into each other's flesh. Charizard, in pursuit of the drake, dove down after them. Locking his jaws shut on the drake's neck, he forced the dragon away from the bird. Pidgeot plummeted to the ground and crashed into a group of cultists, some of which were killed. The others tried to kill the pokemon. Though pidgeot could not fly, its wing limp, it would not simply lie down and die. The bird tore an attacker's throat out with its beak.

The cultists were thinning out, falling to the heroes and their pokemon allies. Even those that had never truly fought before understood their lives were in jeopardy, as were the lives of their masters. A handful of defenders were tearing through the many twilight cultists, but the cultists were tearing through lives as well. Some of the unlucky skeptics, unarmed and equipped only with weak pokemon, stood no chance against the Twilight's Hammer. The cultists didn't discriminate; they would murder anyone who stood in their way. Most, however, were too busy fighting pokemon and adventurers to attack the unarmed rocket grunts, who looked on in terror.

The twilight wyrm was weakened, bleeding and burnt. Its snout was torn to shreds from the death knight's relentless attack. He was ruthless. James did not just use the power of ice and steel, but blood and plague. He had no problems using his manipulation of death and decay to infect the dragon's many wounds with horrible plagues, or boiling its blood. The runes on his blade burned and flickered as he fought. The warlock's shadow and fire continually wore away at the dragon. Bolts of green fire burned deep into the wyrm's body. Flames licked across the ground, winding back and forth like the arbok that tore at the monster's ankles, before striking. Jessie stole away the beast's life energy to fuel her own dark heart, just as her partner drew strength from the blood he spilled. Both of them, almost vampiric in nature, knew their enemy as well as themselves.

A drake screamed as Kai's flames engulfed it. Before the fire was out, another blast charred the scaly skin. The twilight monster lost the strength to flap its wings and fell. It impaled itself on a sharp rock. Its shadow-stained blood dripped and pooled around it.

The tide of war had turned. There were fewer cultists than defenders. Misty was able to join the fight, redirecting stored holy power into her attacks instead of healing. The Light would pierce the shadows with ease.

Charizard snapped the other drake's neck. The fire pokemon then turned its attention to the puny humanoids around it. The dragon-like creature landed with a thud and began breathing fire at the cultists. Those who survived plunged their daggers into the creature's flank. Roaring with pain, charizard took flight again, and attacked from the sky. There were only a few cultists left. The defenders tore through them faster and faster, knowing that the cult would not give in until the last invader fell.

The twilight wyrm let out an ear piercing shriek as its nose bones shattered with the impact of the runeblade. "Your power is mine!" the warlock said, draining the last of the creature's life away. It collapsed and lay still. Just to be certain, the death knight put his blade through the skull of the beast.

Without their dragon, the cultists were as good as dead, not that that stopped the adventurers from killing the last few. They stood, silent, over the blood and bodies of their enemies. The shaman and paladin started healing their allies. The warlock simply harvested souls from her fallen enemies to renew her strength.

The surviving rockets simply stared. Finally, one spoke up. "Screw Giovanni. Screw him and his damn lies. I'd like to see _him _take down a dragon."

"Boss doesn't have a damn clue. His time's done. Things are getting stale," another added. "James, Jessie, you two are good in my book."

"Times have changed," a third agreed. "Giovanni doesn't have what it takes to win now. If it takes swordsmanship and spellcasting to win in this age, that's what we'll have to get."

The duo seemed rather confused by the sudden congratulations and praise they were receiving from the other members of Team Rocket. "James, what's going on? What just happened?"

"I don't know. I think we may have just unintentionally taken over Team Rocket."


	61. Never Look Back

The two shadow users just stood there, not quite sure how to deal with what just happened. In fact, they weren't even sure they wanted control of the team. And if they didn't want it, they didn't know how to get rid of it.

"Um…" James scratched his head. "We're a bit too busy to lead you guys. You deal with trying to explain this all to the boss. We're off to find a lost dragon whelp and then it's back to hunting the Twilight's Hammer."

"How about you all try to keep Kanto clear of cultists, so we don't have to worry about it?" Jessie suggested.

"With what, rattatas and zubats? Against dragons and magic?" One of the rockets asked.

Jessie and James looked to the other members of Quel'Delar's Chosen. There were two options here, and they knew their interests conflicted. On one hand, Ash and his friends had always chased off Team Rocket when it tried to steal rare pokemon. On the other hand, they could potentially be turned into a defense force against the Twilight's Hammer – but only with stronger pokemon.

"Why don't you all each catch one or two strong pokemon to use against the cult?" Misty suggested.

"You want to let them raid the safari zone?" Ash asked.

"Normally, no," the girl replied, "but we have to pick the lesser of two evils. A gang of petty criminals is better than a cult of maniacs bent on destroying the world."

"You heard the paladin," James said. "Make yourselves – and Team Rocket – useful. The world's at stake here, and the less we have to worry about defending two worlds at once, the better we can strike at the heart of the problem."

The other rockets seemed almost as confused and unsure as their potential new leaders. They weren't really sure who they were following anymore, but they did have newfound respect for Jessie and James.

Gary was busy searching for the grey-haired woman who'd been taunting him. When he found her, he said "I do believe I'm entitled to this," and punched her in the face as hard as he could, knocking her down. "_That's for my mother and father, you bitch! It's your fault I grew up an orphan!_" The mage began to spew profanities at her, occasionally punctuating his remarks with a kick. Nobody stood up to defend her. Most of the spectators were too afraid of him, and the rest thought she deserved it. Finally, Gary stood still, breathing hard, baring his teeth and glaring, fists clenched. After a moment's pause, he kicked the woman in the side one last time. He pulled his cloak around him and turned to Kai. "Come on," he said quietly. "Let's go." The mage got onto the dragon's back. Misty healed the injured pidgeot and the whole group silently followed Gary's command.

XXX

In Saffron City, the heroes first went to report their missing dragon to Officer Jenny. On the way, Misty noticed a poster with a picture of a dark-skinned boy about seven years old. _Missing. If found, contact the Elite Four or your local Officer Jenny. Name: Orpheus._ She had too much on her mind to think about it too much.

"There," Ash said. "Officer!" he called out. Jenny, who was holding the hand of a small and presumably lost girl of about eight years in a red dress, looked over at him.

"Yes?" Officer Jenny gave the group an odd look.

Misty did a double take at the little girl. The child bore a striking resemblance to the paladin: the exact same hair color, the same chin… Misty then realized that the girl also resembled Ash, having the same distinct cheekbones, and she even looked a bit like Gary, with the same eyes and the same thin nose. She had skin ever so slightly darker than any of them, though.

"Yay!" the little girl shouted, then ran over and hugged the paladin before shifting into the form of a red whelp. The police officer blinked a few times.

"Um, thanks for finding our dragon," Ash muttered.

"I didn't expect that she'd know how to shift yet," Kai said.

"Well, I… guess my work here is done…" Jenny said. After a pause, she went back to what she was doing before she found the girl, trying to wrap her mind around what she'd just seen.

"Don't you ever run off like that again!" the paladin scolded.

"Sorry."

Misty picked Tori up and hugged her tightly. "You scared us all."

For the first time since leaving the safari zone, Gary finally spoke. "I wasn't expecting her to look like that."

"Like what, like a human?" Starwisp asked.

"No. Like… us. She looked like a mix of some of us."

"You weren't expecting that?" Kai said, raising an eyebrow. "What did you expect?"

"I… don't know. But not that. She's not related to any of us, so…"

"A dragon's humanoid form is only partially genetic. Part of it is imprinted while the young whelp develops, to better resemble whatever form their caregivers take, so they can pose as a mortal family. And part of it is chosen consciously. Young whelps typically choose to resemble their caretakers even more closely. It's an instinctive thing."

"So, because you, Gary, Misty, and Ash are Tori's primary caretakers, that's why she looks like a blend of you?" Brock asked.

"Exactly."

"That's… kinda freaky," Gary commented. Seeing his features in the shapeshifting little girl, blended with Misty's, was strange, and made him uncomfortable – he didn't want to think about taking the relationship that far yet. They were still _way_ too young to even_ think_ about that. But the fact that Kai's features, and most disturbingly, _Ash's_ features, were _also _mimicked by the little whelp… well, that just plain freaked Gary out. It was a blend of features he didn't like seeing. The others found it a little creepy too, but they all figured they'd eventually get used to it.

"Well, I guess we should- wait." The paladin remembered the poster. "Guys, if Tori can shapeshift, do you think the pure blackwhelp can? I saw a poster that said to contact the Elite Four if you found a missing little boy with dark skin. It said his name was Orpheus. Did Lance ever tell us what he named the hatchling?"

"Wouldn't Fleezlebop have contacted us if he went missing?" Jessie asked.

"Unless… the communications device was broken," Brock said. He frowned.

"That's correct," a strange voice said. It sounded young as the voice of a child, but at the same time, strangely mature, like the voice of a teen. "Which is precisely why I broke it on my way out."

"Orpheus?" Quel'Delar's Chosen asked in unison. They turned to see the boy, leaning against a wall.

"That's not my name anymore, but yes. Now I call myself Wrathion."

"Now why would you call yourself that? And why did you run away? I'm sure Lance is worried sick about you!" Kai said.

"Shut up. You don't know anything. You're not-"

"Pure! I know," Kai snapped. "Yes, I have the taint! We all do, save you. But I've lived in Outland. The taint has faded. Enough that I tried to help purify your egg, at the very least."

"Yes, I know. Fleezlebop told me everything. Who I am. About… _him._ Why I'm here." He frowned. "That's why I want to run away to Azeroth. Lance means well but he doesn't understand. Nobody understands!"

Tori had returned to human form and hid behind Misty. Evidently she felt safer disguised as a little girl in Kanto. The paladin took her by the hand and walked her over to Wrathion. "Orph-… Wrathion. This is Toristrasza. She's your sister. Her mother died for you. She and Kai were responsible for purifying your egg. So that makes Rheastrasza your mom too, sort of. So Tori's your sister."

Wrathion grinned darkly and took her hands in his for a moment. "Dearest sister, how glad I am to meet you. I've been told all about you too." There was something creepy about the way he talked, although he could have just been putting sarcastic emphasis on 'dearest'. "Perhaps you can help me. You're a pure dragon. Surely your kind will help me fulfill my destiny!"

"Come on, let's take you back to Indigo Plateau…" Ash muttered.

"_No!_ I'm never going back! I'm going to Azeroth. Where I belong."

"Then let's at least tell Lance that, so he stops worrying," Starwisp said.

"Fair enough," Wrathion said, his red eyes glittering. "And then you will take me with you to Azeroth, _won't you_, mage?" the whelp asked, looking up at Gary. His eyes were piercing.

"Oh, you have your mother's eyes…" the mage mumbled nervously. The similarity was uncanny. Gary still remembered very clearly what Nyxondra's eyes looked like. Burning with hate… He shook his head. "Alright. You can come with us. But don't get into trouble."

"Of course not…" The young prince smiled ominously.


	62. Flintlocke vs the Horde

Gary sighed as the heroes arrived in Stormwind again. "And with that, I've run out of portal runes. Again. I'm going to go buy more reagents. Someone seriously needs to figure out how to cast a portal without runes. We mages could learn a thing or two from psychic pokemon, I think…"

Starwisp also wandered off. "I have things to put in the bank, some things to auction, and mail to retrieve."

"I'm sorry that Gary's been so mean to you, Tracey. I don't know what's gotten into him," the paladin said. She figured now was a good time to apologize.

"It's alright. Hey, I'll be back a little later. I have some… special reagents… to pick up." And with that, the rogue slipped into a back alley.

Misty shook her head. "I'm never going to get used to that."

"Hey, where did Wrathion go?" Ash asked.

"Aw, damn it!" Kai said. "I should have expected him to run off. I turn my back for _one minute_ and he's gone."

There was a pause. "As a paladin," Misty said, "I feel like I should go rescue him. And as an individual, for once, I really, honestly, don't give a damn."

"He's a creepy kid," Brock said.

"It's probably for the best," James said. "He'll find somewhere to go. I have a feeling he can fight well for his age. Or is at least good at evading things."

XXX

"Sorry for leaving so suddenly, Your Majesty," Misty said. "We had urgent matters to attend to. Was there anything else you wanted from us?"

"Your legendary prowess would be quite an asset to the Alliance in the Twilight Highlands. With Stormwind secure, we will take this fight to the enemy. The bulk of our navy has already shipped out, thanks to your work earlier. But Fargo Flintlocke has prepared a seaplane that can make the journey in half the time. Speak with Flintlocke down at the harbor and tell him that you are to accompany him to the Highlands. He will be by the water's edge. Safe journeys, and good luck. You'll need it."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

XXX

Flintlocke was as crazy as the first time they'd met him. "A ride to the Highlands, then? I've just the thing! I'll make room for yeh in me seaplane. I'll have to ditch the cat food I was packing, yeh know, in case we crash in the mountains and ain't rescued fer weeks." Fargo began to take several bags of cat food out of the plane. The heroes exchanged glances. Flintlocke stopped before he'd put down the last bag of cat food. He looked at Quel'Delar's Chosen. "On second thought, jes' keep summa the cat food on yer lap, aye, lass," the dwarf said, shoving the bag of cat food into Misty's arms.

"This is a terrible idea," Starwisp muttered.

"Right then, just hop in the seaplane behind me and I'll fly yeh to the Highlands. We're to report to a feller named 'Lieutenant Fawkes'. I've promised the King we'd get there lickety-fast, so I took the liberty of ditchin' any excess weight."

"What sort of 'excess weight'?" Gary asked cautiously. Fargo at least had the kindness to help some of the heroes get into the floating plane without falling off the dock, since the waves were throwing the thing about quite a bit.

"Eh, yeh know. Seatbelts. Parachutes. Maps. Stabilizers. Landing gear. I never actually 'land' these things anyways."

"This is a _terrible idea!_" Starwisp repeated, taking Aeroth off her shoulder and clutching him to her chest. A couple feathers flew off as the bird puffed up and hooted. She didn't want him falling off during the flight.

The engine purred. "Yep! Off we go." The plane took off.

"Oh, this isn't so bad," Tracey said. His words may very well have cursed them. No sooner had he finished his sentence than the engine stalled and the plane very nearly crashed into the wall of the harbor.

"Easy… does it…" Fargo said, concentrating on flying the aircraft, recovering them at the last minute. He flew the plane under the arch leading into the canal district of Stormwind, so close to the top in fact, that Starwisp's ears literally grazed the stone. She sat stiff as a plank, eyes wide, clutching her bird so tightly that he looked even more like his eyes were going to pop out than usual.

Flintlocke circled around the tower in the mage district, until he was pointing the right direction. "Right then. I hate long plane rides. So I'mma gonna kick in the afterburners and ignite our entire fuel supply in one go."

"_What?_" the entire group shouted at once.

"Whatever yeh do, don't black out!"

Starwisp's scream as the plane suddenly tripled its velocity scared birds out of their nests for miles around.

XXX

The heroes had done exactly what Flintlocke told them not to do: black out. One by one, they came back around to the sound of combat. The first thing Tracey did was hide in the shadows between boxes in a pile of supply crates, while he tried to figure out what was happening around him and stop feeling dizzy. Starwisp looked for Aeroth, picked him up out of the pile of shed feathers, and joined the rogue in hiding – though she used her typical shadowmeld and simply faded out of sight.

"Flintlocke," Tracey said, upon first locating the dwarf, "I'm very tempted to put something nasty in your ale when you're not looking."

"Oh, like you coulda done any better!" the dwarf replied indignantly.

The others were waking up now. "What the…" Ash muttered. "Oh, my head." He sat up, and pikachu fell off his chest, then looked up at him, confused. The warrior looked around. The plane was tangled in the sails and mast of the ship they'd crashed on. It was in ruins and the ship needed repairs too. Meowth was hanging over the edge of the crow's nest.

"Last time I ever fly with Flintlocke," Gary said. "Where the hell are we?" Then he noticed the source of the sounds of combat. Orcs were fighting with Alliance soldiers on the lower deck of the ship.

"You lot are the last thing I expected to fall from the sky," Lieutenant Fawkes said. "Welcome to Highbank, soldiers. You're just in time. Horde troops just launched an assault from the air. Step up and do something about it. Clear them out!"

There was a pause. They'd literally just come around from being unconscious, and were basically being told 'hi strangers, glad you're okay; go kill stuff'. James shrugged and picked up his runeblade, and charged into combat. The others didn't have much choice but to follow.

Even though they'd just woken up and were still dizzy and injured, Quel'Delar's Chosen were more than a match for the orcs. Pokemon in particular tended to recover well from fainting, so pikachu and Meowth were as effective as ever. Absol, scyther, and vaporeon hadn't been out for the crash, so were in peak condition. The orcs were quickly repelled from the ship.

"Har! We get to jump right inta the action. Looks like Highbank has whatcha call a zeppelin problem: that airship is poundin' the crap outta the walls. Listen, I got me an idear so stupid it's genius. I just need some cannon powder," Fargo said. "Collect as much as you can find around Highbank an' meet me by the trade area!"

The heroes stared incredulously. Even Gary, normally thrilled to make things explode, did not want to have anything more to do with this man. But Misty picked up a barrel of powder with a sigh, so off they went. "This is a bad idea," the paladin muttered.

Each of them brought a barrel of the gunpowder to Flintlocke – even the mage was barely able to lift one, though he nearly tore his arms out of their sockets doing so.

"Aye, that'll do." Fargo opened a barrel and stuffed a handful of the powder into his mouth. "Ohhh, fresh! Heady. Redridge fine grain with a hint of Westfall sulphur and a mild aftertaste. Highbank gets the good stuff."

"Now what?" Brock asked.

Flintlocked turned to the night elf. "Lookie here, Starwisp. I found the biggest gun in Highbank! We're gonna try a technique handed down ta me by my pappy, from his pappy, from his pappy, shortly before he got blowed up."

"Alright," she said nervously.

"It's called the 'hunter-shot.' You take a night elf hunter, and load her inta a gigantic cannon, and then ya - oh relax. This usually works." The look on Starwisp's face could not ever be accurately described with any combination of words. It did, however, convey a vague sense of question marks, exclamation marks, and foul language.

"Take these explosives, then wait here next ta me. As soon as that blimpy comes around I'll blast you onto tha deck. Plant the explosives in 'er bely and, oh I dunno, make it up as you go."

"_How about no?_" Starwisp replied, incredulous.

The man standing next to the dwarf said, "Flintlocke, if we have a big giant cannon, why don't we just shoot... a cannonball?"

"Bah, predictable! They'll see it comin'! But once ol' Starwisp here blasts through their bulkhead in a hail of splintered wood, blood, and phlegm and then starts crawlin' across the deck with both legs broken, oh aye, they'll not see _that_ comin' by a sweet mile, no sir!"

"_You're out of your Elune-damned mind!_" the night elf shrieked.

Kai shifted into dragon form. "I'm going to just fly up there and attack them."

"Tha'll work too," Flintlocke said, as the drake lifted from the ground.


	63. Cleaning Up the Mess

Kai hovered above the barrels of gunpowder, then reached down and picked one up awkwardly between his claws. He did not have thumbs, but dragons could rotate their wrists well enough that they could grasp large objects between their front claws. "I'm gonna light this my own way."

The black drake flew up over the keep. Some Alliance soldiers aimed their guns at him. "_Don't shoot!_" Misty shouted. "He's with us!" The drake approached the zeppelin and noticed a small problem. He wanted to blow up the engine, not just the framework and balloon, so it couldn't be salvaged and reused. The trouble was that the engine was in a bottom room, which conveniently had a balcony with an open door – but the balcony was mere inches behind the whirring, spinning propeller. A druid could get in through the side with no problems, but the dragon was far too big. It would slice him to pieces. He hovered next to it. He was not dexterous enough to toss the gunpowder in between the blades.

Instead, he spun around, using the club at the end of his tail to bend the propeller blades. It was tough and bony enough that it could withstand being hit by the blades of the spinning fan of death. _Creak!_ The entire propeller bent slightly to the side and one of the blades was knocked over to the side, giving a large window to toss the powder through. He watched it spin, but knew he had to hurry – the goblins on board would soon start shooting at him. Then, he tossed the powder. In it went, rolling right over to the engine compartment. The drake blasted fire through the door and then flew away.

The heroes on the ground watched as the wooden hull caught fire. The flames spread quickly, and then there was an explosion as the gunpowder went off. The zeppelin broke apart and the balloon popped in a fireball. Kai swooped down and landed in front of them.

"Oh, Kai! Kai, that… that were beautiful!" Flintlocke said, wiping a tear from his eye. "Well, that'll stop the attacks. No new reinforcements comin' in. Shame, cause we never got to use the paladin-rocket."

"No," was Misty's only response.

"Anyways, Kurdran Wildhammer is up in the top of the keep an' I'm sure he'll be wantin' to gives ya a hero's welcome. Yeh earned it! Go talk to 'im! I'll move on ahead and scout out the beach."

The exhausted heroes entered the keep. Some shamans were trying to open a portal in a portal frame, like the ones inside the mage tower at Stormwind. They were having no luck. Quel'Delar's Chosen went upstairs to meet Kurdran. The dwarf with an orange beard and blue tattoos welcomed them.

"The King sent us here to help. Stormwind's secure, so we're going to help out in the Highlands," Brock said.

"The King himself sent you? Good to hear that Stormwind is secure. I was expecting more in the way of troops, but word is that the Alliance fleet was ambushed by the Horde on the way here. They gave as good as they got, but the fleet is in shambles. If we're to make any forward progress here in the Highlands, we're going to need the help of heroes like you."

"Well, what can we do to start?" Ash asked.

"The situation here in the Highlands changes by the minute. Our objective is to storm the Bastion of Twilight, but I can't even secure a landing zone on the shore without the blasted Horde creating trouble. While I scrape together the remains of the fleet, I need men on the shore securing the beach head. Report to Lieutenant Emry on the shore and help his marines to beat back the Horde!"

"Ugh," Misty put her hands on her face. "Why doesn't the Horde get it? Don't they understand that we need to work together to prevent the Twilight's Hammer from destroying everything? Why do they insist on picking petty squabbles with the Alliance? This war is so stupid!"

"Pigheaded leadership," Gary answered. He wanted to add 'on both sides', but that wasn't an appropriate comment to make in front of Kurdran. "Alright, let's go."

The ability to walk on water came in handy again. Highbank was on a small island, and there was neither bridge nor boat to the mainland. For the first time, Quel'Delar's Chosen got a good look at the highlands. The beach was grey, as were the rocks that jutted out of the ground here and there, and any exposed soil beneath the cool green grass. The trees had greyish trunks, and their leaves were rather sparse. Mountains could be seen in the distance. Most strikingly, the Twilight Highlands got their name from the sky. Ominous indigo clouds hung overhead, giving the whole area a dark look, not at all different from the fading light just after dusk. Though the air wasn't too chilly, the highlands _looked_ cold from the cool blues, greens, and greys that painted the landscape.

The noise on the beach was very loud. Orcs, dwarves, and humans clashed. Artillery shells exploded all along the shore, and the occasional shredder saw embedded itself into the sandy ground. The heroes took cover behind a short wall the Alliance had constructed, and talked to the man who seemed to be in charge.

"This is _my_ beach," he said. "The horde _wants_ my beach. They will _not_ have my beach. Is the beach situation clear?"

"Sir, yes sir," Ash replied, grinning.

"The Horde's Axebite Marines are all up in my precious, precious beach," the Lieutenant said, pointing north. "Kill them."

"That is the most direct, short order I've ever received," Starwisp said. "To the point. I like it."

Fighting on that beach was hell. They'd never given it much thought before, but charging on sand was difficult. It was like trying to charge on a field of pillows, or gelatin. The exploding shells and whirring saw blades only made things worse. They killed about a dozen orcs before deciding enough was enough and retreating.

Lieutenant Emry approved. "It's a start."

Fargo was shouting at the top of his lungs that they needed more artillery. "Flintlocke," the warlock said, tapping the dwarf's shoulder. He jumped.

"Oh! It's you! Hm. Our tanks have to pull back, and that means repairs in the field. Smash up summa them diamond-bladed shredders those wee green monsters are using to fell the trees along the coast, and bring me a heap of leftover shredder parts, aye? We'll bang together sumthun' to get our tanks movin' again."

Gary looked over at the shredders up at the edge of the forest. Nasty, metallic robots with saws for hands, piloted by goblins. "You… you want us to fight _those_?" The mage felt his heart sink. "We don't stand a chance… They'll gut us!"

"I'll just yank the goblins out of their cockpits. Then we can dismantle the machines," James said.

"That'll work I guess."

XXX

"Oh aye, tha's the stuff! A good engineer can make anything outta just about anything. This here doo-jicker could recouple a busted cylinder casing… Oh! And who doesn't want a dongle? …And you can fashion this jobby into a … thing." Flintlocke stuck one of the greasy parts into his mouth. "Yep, perfect. Okay then. One by one, we're gonna have to pull our siege tanks outta the muck. Take these 'ere spare parts you've collected and give 'em to a siege tank commander who's standing on top of a gimped-up machine. Then defend the tank while engineers de-gimpify it."

The rescue was straightforward, if annoying. Orcs threw themselves at the heroes as they tried to defend the tank. Then, when it was repaired, they had to help haul it out of the mud. Then, as it slowly lumbered away, it continually got re-stuck and had to be removed, again.

One tank was more than enough work for the adventurers. They told Fargo that he could deal with the rest himself. "Yep, one more tank limpin' back home for repairs. All these trees an' stumps an' mud an' rock - you couldnae drive a golfball into this turf, much less a tank. We're gonna need a new approach."

"You don't say," Gary replied.

Suddenly, they heard a shriek and looked skyward. A limp creature of some sort was dropping down out of the sky to the west, into the forest.

"Was that a gryphon?" Jessie asked.

The Lieutenant nodded. "It wasn't one of ours. Likely it belonged to one of the Wildhammer. I know that Kurdran wanted to establish contact with the lost Wildhammer clans as one of his primary objectives after taking the beach. I can't spare any more of my men to scout it out, but I can spare you. Find that downed Wildhammer!"

As Quel'Delar's Chosen walked away from the beach, the ground got more solid and easier to walk on. There wasn't much plant growth to hinder them, as the Highlands were covered mostly in grasses and small shrubs, or tall trees. There, in the forest, they found a fallen gryphon and a Wildhammer dwarf.

"Aw, dang crap it all. I was hoping you'd be a rescue. You're just some Alliance lackeys."

"Oh, your poor bird! What happened?" Misty asked, kneeling by the gryphon and healing it.

"They shot her. Bastards shot her out of the sky!"

The gryphon stood up after being healed and clicked quietly, pressing its head against Misty's arm. She laughed.

"Aye, look! I think she's perkin' up already. Okay Miss Alliance fancy-pants paladin. Is that your base I see on the shore?"

"Highbank? Yes."

"Can me and my bird hunker down there until she's better?"

"Don't see why not," Brock said. "Come on then, we'll escort you back."

The heroes introduced the dwarf, Thordun, to Kurdran, who was very pleased. "Well done, heroes! Aiding that downed gryphon-rider has given us our first contact with the old Wildhammer clans. We'll be able to find out who's still left, and in what numbers. Our campaign is looking up! Now, on to our next problem. Our Earthen Ring allies have been trying to open a portal back to Stormwind, but with no luck. You think you can do anything about it?"

Gary scoffed. "Silly draenei. Shamans don't do portals, mages do portals. Let _me_ handle this." No later than three minutes later, the young sorcerer returned. "Done. It was tough to stabilize it, but it's up and running, and it'll stay there for a good long while. Just refresh it now and then, hm, every day or so – even the shamans can do that – and you're all set."

"Ho! I knew you were a mage I could count on, Gary. Use that portal anytime you need to get from Stormwind back to the Highlands or vice versa. Save yourself the reagents. Now then, time to get to business. We need to locate and unite the lost Wildhammer clans scattered around the Highlands. Talking with Thordun here is a good start!"

Ash yawned. "You guys got an inn or something around here?"

"We've got some free beds downstairs. Go out that way and down the stairs, then to your right, you'll find what you're looking for. Make yourselves at home."

"_Beds._ Awesome," Jessie said.


	64. Good News and Bad News

He couldn't believe it! He wouldn't have, had he not seen it with his own eyes. But he had! He couldn't understand why she would do this to him! That _she_, of all people, would _cheat on him_… he couldn't wrap his mind around it! And yet he had caught her himself; he'd actually _caught_ her _kissing_ that damn… No. No he hadn't. Gary's half-asleep brain began to sort dream from reality. He sighed. _All just a dream. A nightmare. Thank god…_ He got up and went out into the courtyard of the fortress, so he wouldn't wake the others with the sound of magic as he conjured up cold water and splashed it on his face, then drank some of what was left. Gary glanced up at the sky. It was shadowy steel blue, with pale gold around the eastern edge. The sun would rise soon. He sat down on a stone block and let out another sigh. "What a terrible dream…" he muttered. _I'm starting to miss the ones about dragons killing her,_ he thought. _At least those didn't hit so… close to home. Those were surreal at least. This is far worse._

A little while later, the others started coming out to join him. Ash did a double take. "Whoa, you okay?"

"Uh… Yeah." Gary didn't even attempt to sound convincing.

"You sure? You look really sick. You're all pale and…"

"I'm fine. I just… had a really bad dream."

There was a long pause. "That sucks…" was the warrior's only reply. "How long you been up?"

"No idea. I was up just before the sun." He stared at the ground. "Hey Ash. You think mages' dreams have meaning? Like, more than normal people's dreams, I mean."

"I dunno. Maybe. Why?"

"A lot of my dreams in the past have been important. Or they felt so. You know, nevermind. Most of those were nightmares too. It's probably nothing."

"Why, what was your dream about?"

"I don't wanna talk about it." The warrior shrugged. He wasn't going to push into it. It wasn't really his business anyway.

Jessie joined them, then Kai. The paladin came next. She also asked the mage if he was okay.

"I'm fine," he lied. Misty frowned and cast a cleansing spell on him to get rid of any sort of disease he might have caught – he looked sick. "Misty…?"

"What?" She sat down next to him.

"… Nothing." Gary shook his head slightly. "Nevermind. Wasn't important." She frowned and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"What's the matter?"

He put his arm around her. "I… had a dream about losing you is all. I'm glad you're… still with me." It wasn't technically a lie. He _had _dreamed of losing her… to another guy.

She smiled a bit. "You know I'm tougher than that." He just bit his lip and said nothing.

XXX

"Twilight's Hammer launched surprise attacks all over the Highlands. Sometimes their buildings crawled right out of the earth in the middle of our villages. It was a nightmare!" Thordun said. Gary was tempted to tell him he knew nothing of nightmares. "In the chaos, Firebeard is one of the few who's kept his head on straight. He's trying to piece together a full gryphon wing from the survivors. If you want to bring the Wildhammer into the Alliance, start by helping out Firebeard, to the west."

The adventurers got on their mounts – Tracey rode on Kai's back, since he still didn't have a horse – and set out for Firebeard's Patrol. The casters were soon on edge.

"Do you feel that?" Jessie asked.

"Yes," Gary replied. They were both picking up on a disruption in the ley lines.

"You two picking up some bad voodoo in the air or something?" Ash asked. Gary just nodded.

It soon became apparent why. They found a small mountain that had been torn apart with dark magic. As in outland, piece of rock simply floated around it. Purple magic swirled up from inside the crater, like a volcano of black magic.

The two casters, not sure what it was, said nothing. "Oh no," Misty said. She pointed at the dwarf town. The sod-roof houses were collapsing as the wooden supports burned. Her charger burst into a full gallop. The others followed quickly. The young trainer's water pokemon was already out and helping to put out the fires, as the girl fetched buckets of water from the well to toss on the burning buildings. She'd had practice at this in Cerulean. The shaman joined in, casting water spells, and the mage took an indirect route by casting frost spells. The fire melted the ice and put itself out with the resultant water. Everyone else took to fighting the fire elementals that had overrun the town. The Wildhammer dwarves were surprised of course, but who were they to complain about an unexpected rescue?

After the chaos died down, Keegan Firebeard thanked them. They explained why they'd been sent, and Keegan nodded. "Iain, my second in command, bore the body of one of our fallen heroes to the graveyard to the west. He's the man I've put in charge of reforming a wing of gryphon riders from whatever scattered forces he can find. I would like you to help him. I should impress upon you the urgency of this task. We will not be able to hold here forever; the Twilight's Hammer or the Dragonmaw orcs will eventually overwhelm us. Putting together an active gryphon wing may be our only hope for surviving these conflicts."

Iain sent the adventurers off to convince two other clans – Doyle and Mullan – to join, as well as find some missing Firebeards. The heroes decided to find the Mullans first. Duglas Mullan was skeptical of the heroes' intentions, to say the least.

"You don't look like a Firebeard to me. Why exactly should I be listenin' to anything you say?"

"Because why would we come all the way out here if not to get your support?" James replied rhetorically. "Keegan wants you to fly with him."

"Keegan wants the Mullans to take wing with'm eh? If there's a dwarf I'd fly for, he'd be it. Still, I don't get why he'd be sendin' an outsider to be recruitin' me – not right polite by my standards. I'm guessin' ya don't last twenty seconds with any of my boys, at the bar or in the battlefield."

"Oh really? I'll go ahead and concede the drinking one – I've never had alcohol in my life," Ash said, "but I can beat any of your men at fighting any day of the week! Bring it on!"

"Prove me wrong, then. Take one of'm down in a fight and then I'll think about flyin' with ol' Keegan. No healing."

Ash promptly marched over to a tough-looking dwarf and said "You dwarves like a good brawl, don't you?"

"What, Duglas send ya over to get roughed up?"

"You're not backing down are ya?"

"Ooh, them's fightin' words!"

Ash drew his swords and grinned. "On the count of three, the duel starts. One… Two… _Three!_"

The dwarf, despite lacking good armor, fought very well. He had a shield and a hammer, which made up for the fact that his opponent was wearing plate. The others stood back and watched. The dwarf swung his hammer, but the warrior stepped back. The Wildhammer retreated and raised his shield to block a sword blow, and swung again. Ash parried the attack with the base of his blade and lunged with his offhand sword, landing a hit. The dwarf smashed into him with his shield, then smacked him in the chest with the hammer. Ash cringed but was able to knock the shield out of the way and hit the dwarf twice with his blades.

"Good fight, lad," the dwarf said, letting go of his weapon and dropping to his knees. "Not half bad. You've got some fight in ya."

Duglas was pleased by this display. The female dwarf next to him grinned. "Don't let Duglas fool you, the Mullans have been itchin' to take wing again, and if there's anyone we'd do it for, it's Firebeard. We left our gryphons in the Highland Forest to the south to hunt and to get away from the sounds of battle for a bit. They deserved a rest. If you want us back in the air soon, you'd do well to help us bring our gryphons back in."

The first few gryphons the heroes found in the woods simply needed to be directed back to their owners, but not all were that simple. A startling number had been badly wounded. Misty and Brock healed them and sent them on their way, wondering what could have done that to them. They found their answer soon enough. The rogue found a Twilight Cultist sharpening his knife next to a tied up gryphon. "Consider yourself lucky I have the mercy to give you a swift death," Tracey said, stabbing the troll through the back. He then cut all the ropes that held the bird down. This went on for a while before the heroes returned to Duglas.

"Your point's made. Keegan can count on us. We'll meet'm back at town as soon as all the boys are rallied up. You're tough for not bein' a Wildhammer. Guess they breed'm good where you come from too."

"Kanto's produced some of the best heroes Azeroth has yet seen," Gary boasted. "Of course we're tough."

Soon, the heroes were off to find the Doyles. As they rode through the highlands, they were surprised to see what seemed to be a gathering of red dragons in the distance. Drakes wheeled about in the sky not far from where they were going. As Quel'Delar's Chosen drew closer, they saw that some of the drakes were red, and others black. Still, they were not prepared for what they found when they reached the stone 'forest', with its black ground and pillars of black rock. The Doyles and their gryphons had all been slaughtered. Black drakes were gorging themselves greedily on the corpses.

"Oh no," Kai whispered. His eyes narrowed. He shook the rogue off his back and launched himself toward the other drakes. They looked for a moment like they were going to welcome him to the feast, but he made his motives clear. He did not dig into a carcass, but into another drake. There was a massive commotion as the drakes roared and clawed and generally scuffled. The mortals joined the attack, fending off the other two drakes. It didn't take long to bring them down.

Starwisp looked at the tracks in the soot and dust. "Likely no survivors. Every gryphon that went down lost its rider as well. None of the tracks lead more than a few feet from the birds." Not all the bodies were accounted for, but when the source of death was a giant flying beast, that was to be expected.

XXX

"Iain?" Starwisp said. "We have good news and bad news."

"What's the good news?"

"We've got the Mullans."

Iain grinned. "They're worth more than their weight in a fight, and they ain't exactly skinny."

"The bad news," Gary said, "is that the Doyles have fought their last – as far as we could tell their fight with the drakes left no survivors."

"That's a right shame. Stubborn as they were to speak to, they were just as stubborn in a fight. Would have been good to have 'em. Once this is done, we'll have to send some boys out to bring them back for a proper send off."

"We'll come back once we've found your missing Firebeards," James said.

"Good luck."


	65. The Sky's No Limit

The dwarves that Quel'Delar's Chosen were looking for were in a ruined orc camp, gathered around the forge, working busily.

"There you are," Ash said. "Iain wants you to head back."

"That time, lad?" the dwarf in charge said. "Alright. Help us wrap this up, would you? The Twilight sacked this town, killin' most of the Dragonmaw that lived in it. A few survived though, and they're not right keen on us takin' liberties with their supplies. Not that that matters much. Well, I'm not right keen on them attackin' my boys. Kill'm off, chase'm out – I don't care, just get'm gone."

"_Gladly,_" Kai growled. "I_ hate_ Dragonmaw. Miserable fiends."

"Anything else?" Jessie asked. "How much will you pay us for this, by the way?" James elbowed her in the ribs. "Er, just kidding."

One of the dwarves working at the forge stopped for a moment. "Those Dragonmaw weapons are worthless, but they can be smelted down to make actual weapons. Bring me some Dragonmaw weapons so me daughter and I can forge real weapons out of them."

The adventurers walked around a ruined tower, picking up discarded axes and other assorted weapons. They soon found an injured orc with black skin lying on the ground. Misty went to help him to his feet, but he unexpectedly punched her in the jaw. She reeled back and fell down. The orc could not have gotten a faster and more violent reaction from Gary, Kai, and Tracey if he'd tried; all three attacked at once, two out of rage at the paladin's injury and the orc's ungratefulness, one out of simple malice toward the Dragonmaw. It wasn't clear in the scuffle that followed whose attack killed the orc, as all three were fairly vicious. The mage extended a hand to help the paladin up.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She nodded. He paused for a moment, smiling at her slightly, before letting go of her hand. She smiled back and thanked him quietly.

Meanwhile, the rogue was going through the orc's bag for anything valuable. "Oh! A lockbox!" he suddenly exclaimed, rather excitedly. "I love these things. Rarely have anything good in them, but they're fun to open." The paladin laughed as her friend started fussing with the lock. A moment later the box clicked open. Tracey looked confused and incredulous. "Seriously? Who puts a lockbox inside another lockbox? That doesn't even make sense!"

"Come on, fuzzball, you can play with your boxes later," Misty said, laughing.

XXX

"Well, you've cleaned things up and helped out with the chores. Not bad! Take these to Iain at Firebeard Cemetery, and he should reward you for a job well done." The dwarf handed over some weapons. "We've got a couple more things to wrap up, but we'll be joinin' you shortly." Gary resisted the urge to make a joke about dwarves always arriving 'shortly'.

XXX

"Hah! Looks like their raid went mighty well then. I'll have to buy ol' Forgehammer a round once we finish with this mess." Iain cleared his throat. "Shame about the Doyles. It's a fair miracle that as many of us made it out as is though, so can't count it as much of a surprise. Those louts at Thundermar are cowards. Even after tellin' them it was Keegan askin', they won't set foot outside of their town. I did rope in the Moores though, so that's at least three clans' worth. Keegan wanted to hear from ya personally when you returned. We should probably get goin'."

"Do you think we'll have enough?" Ash asked. "To fight them off, I mean."

"Of course we will," Gary replied. "Not to sound arrogant or anything-"

"You? Arrogant? Never," the warrior interrupted, in mock-astonishment.

"Shut up. But anyway, I think we have more than enough strength to beat back the Twilight's Hammer. Even out here on their turf, Quel'Delar's Chosen alone can hold ground against them. The dwarves push us into guaranteed victory."

"Your ego's back," Misty commented, smiling and folding her arms over her chest.

"You like it." The mage winked.

"Maybe a little."

"I see your relationship is back on the right track. Good. I was kinda worried about you two," the rogue commented, honestly meaning it. He felt terrible about causing such drama for his best friend and truly worried about the stability of her relationship; the rough patch ending was a great relief.

The smile immediately vanished from Gary's face. "Shut up, Tracey."

"What? Did… I say something wrong?" Tracey looked guilty, thinking that perhaps he shouldn't have spoken up.

"Gary, that was completely uncalled for," Starwisp scolded.

"Sorry," he replied, bowing to the night elf's authority.

Misty looked a bit saddened at the ruined moment. _And here I thought things were finally returning to normal,_ she thought. It seemed like happy moods never lasted anymore. Friendly moments with Tracey and her relationship with Gary both went sour whenever they crossed paths, mostly because of the mage's behavior and irrational jealousy. She wished he would just get over it so she wouldn't constantly have the conflict hanging over her head. She decided she would talk to him about it later. Right now they had the dwarves to help.

"Alright, you've gathered the clans," Keegan said. "Now we strike. The Twilight's Hammer is responsible for that magical disruption." He pointed to the purple light in the floating rocks that the heroes had seen earlier. Lightning flashed from inside. "Choose your gryphons. We'll provide stormhammers."

"What's a stormhammer?" Misty asked.

"Enchanted dwarven weapon," Brock explained. "It can be used to absorb electric attacks and later unleash them on a target of the wielder's choice. In other words, the bane of Pikachu's existence."

"At long last, we have discovered its weakness," James commented.

"Good luck getting a dwarf to part with one. They're… rare weapons, to say the least," the shaman said.

"Come on, let's go. We've got Twilight Cultists to kill," Ash said, eager for combat.

"Yeah," Gary agreed. "Oh, and Keegan, I don't need the hammer. I can handle this with raw magic. Drawing from that arcane energy should make me much stronger. Kai, let's go." The dark-skinned boy shapeshifted and bowed his head to let the mage get on his back, then spread his wings.

The others, aside from Brock, who could manipulate electricity on his own, received their hammers and took flight on the gryphons. As always, Jessie and Gary were the aerial aces. The whole flock, plus several mounted dwarves, circled around the floating chunks of rock. Each chunk had several storm-specialized cultists on it, channeling some kind of lightning spell. Many of them redirected their efforts when the heroes began to circle.

The two spellcasters deftly directed their mounts down to right next to the cultists and hit them point-blank with powerful magic. One of the cultists threw a lightning bolt at Gary, who deflected it with a mana shield. A second bolt was absorbed by the stormhammer Jessie was wielding.

"Haha! Where is your god now, Pikachu? I'd like to see you shock me with this!" She pointed the stormhammer at a cultist. "Eat lightning, bastard!" The shock she would have received was launched into the cultist, killing him.

Brock didn't need the stormhammer. He was able to create lightning shields – small balls of electricity that spun around him, protecting him – and throw lightning from his hands. He held onto the gryphon's reins with one hand and used the other to blast the cultists. On the other end of the spectrum, Ash had to rely entirely on the stormhammer. He couldn't attack on his own.

A strange magical charge drew Gary up to the top of the spire. He was very glad he'd gone up there, because he found something quite important. An air ascendant – a humanoid-turned-air-elemental dressed in elementium and dragonskins – was channeling a very dangerous spell. As Kai flew over the large central stone the ascendant stood on, Gary jumped off. The mage stood up and brushed the dirt off his tunic, then cast a counterspell to disrupt the elemental's magic. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that."

The elemental turned angrily. It began to channel lightning, and in response, Gary started casting a fireball. "Fires burn better with access to lots of oxygen, you know…" He cringed as the lightning coursed through his body, but it took more than that to drop the mage. Now it was his turn to cast the spell. As he'd predicted, the fireball went wild upon hitting the air elemental, consuming its form. The ascendant gasped and somehow smothered the flames after a moment of panic, but the damage was done. "More where that came from, airhead," Gary said, winding up a pyroblast.

The elemental wouldn't have it. It began casting a spell that would do a great deal of damage if it went off. Gary couldn't counter it just yet, so he looked around for somewhere to hide. There was nowhere for him to go! He froze himself in ice just as the lightning bomb went off. The ice shattered and the mage cast a fire blast at his opponent. Again, the flames began to consume the elemental. Again, the fire was smothered and the dangerous spell was charged. This time Gary had no escape. So he simply decided to burn for all he was worth. Putting all his effort into slaying the elemental, he raced against his opponent's long spell cast time, using every spell he could. Flames raged as the platform became an inferno. Both sides of the fight knew that it would be a close match. Would the mage slay the elemental before the spell went off, or would the ascendant put down his dangerous foe?

The air elemental successfully cast his lightning bomb. Gary dropped to his knees in pain. But somehow, the mage had survived, if barely. The elemental, near dissipation itself, began casting another, smaller spell, to finish off its wounded enemy. The mage did the same. Both spells neared completion!

Kai rose up from behind and unleashed a torrent of flames from his maw. The elemental shrieked and the armor clattered to the ground. Gary collapsed in exhaustion and weakness. The drake swooped down and picked up the mage in his front claws before carrying him to safety. The other heroes soon returned from their fight with the cultists.

"Gary, are you okay?" Misty asked. The mage was leaning against the well in the center of the dwarf town, nearly unconscious. The girl healed him.

"Thanks, Misty…"

"What happened?" Ash asked. "I saw fire. Lots of fire. What were you fighting up there that could beat you up like this?" He was clearly at least a bit scared. The mage was clearly not physically beaten, which was his usual form of injury. It had definitely been a magical fight. And anything that was powerful enough to do _this_ much damage to Gary with magic, to give him a run for his money in a magical duel like it had, was something Ash did _not_ want to encounter, much less fight.

"Air ascendant. I had to stop it."

"A what now?"

"A person who's turned into an elemental," Gary said.

"That's possible?" Tracey asked, clueless. Had anyone else asked, the sorcerer wouldn't have acted like it was common knowledge – it wasn't.

"_Duh._ Didn't you know that?" Gary said condescendingly. Misty smacked him. "Ow!"

"_Stop it, Gary. You're being an ass._" She glared at him.

"Sorry."

"Don't apologize to me! Apologize to Tracey!"

"Fine. Sorry," he said, this time looking at the rogue.

"I'm getting really sick of this," Ash muttered. He wasn't even _involved_ and he was tired of it. "You need to grow up, Gary."

The mage just silently gritted his teeth. Deep down, he knew the others were right. But he wouldn't admit it. The part of him that believed Tracey was a threat was simply too strong.


	66. I See Only Darkness

Keegan had one more task to ask of the heroes. There was one more clan to be gathered. "We may be safe here, but there are a lot of Wildhammer who could still use support. Our wing can offer that, but we need to keep bolsterin' our forces if we're going to clear the Twilight completely. I'm going to have words with Colin Thundermar. Only a coward turns down the callin' of his people, especially in a time this dire. Go to Thundermar, find Colin and get a real explanation out of'm. I won't be putting up with cowardice in a Wildhammer leader."

Quel'Delar's Chosen set off in the given direction, and just before the stream, came across a grisly sight. It was an orc encampment like none they'd ever seen, a Dragonmaw camp. The wooden fortress walls had black, scaly hides pinned all along them, covering every inch. Wooden spikes jutted up here and there, with mutilated, rotting dragon heads and horns mounted all over them, or pairs of severed dragon wings affixed to them and held up and open by ropes tied to other spikes. Racks like those one would hang dead pigs from stood all throughout the camp, each with several black drakes hanging by the neck. The stench of blood and rot filled the air. Through the entrances, the heroes could see at least a dozen butchered dragon corpses with limbs hacked off and chunks carved out like they were mere cattle being prepared to be eaten.

Kai stumbled to the side and vomited at the horrific sight. Starwisp frowned and pulled a rag out of the storage plane, and wiped the poor boy's mouth as he stayed on his hands and knees, still gagging and heaving, then she helped him to stand up in his sickened state. She helped him down to the stream, where he could splash cold water on his face and get away from the stench.

XXX

"_Wot? _He called _me_ a coward? Just like a Firebeard, all hot air and not a lick of sense. I've been bearing the brunt of a Dragonmaw invasion from the south, much of Thundermar is in ruins, and do any of the other clans stick up to help? No! Ol' Thundermar is on his own he is, and you'd better believe I'm usin' everything in my arsenal just to stem the tide." Colin Thundermar spat on the ground. "Psh. Dragonmaw. Monsters, all of them. We've fought them up and down these highlands since the last war. And now they're joining forces with the Horde? If you're going to convince us Wildhammers to unite under the Alliance banner, you'd best prove yourself against the Dragonmaw. Wade into the battle that's raging in the Thundermar ruins to the south and southwest. Kill Dragonmaw marauders and collect the insignias that their greatest warriors wear. Then we'll talk."

"With pleasure," Kai growled. "Damn them! I hate them all!" And he was true to his word. As soon as he reached the Dragonmaw, he took his drake form and began to slaughter them all viciously. He did not merely kill them, he gutted and carved their bodies up with his claws, screaming, growling, cursing, and occasionally sobbing as he did.

"Kai, are you alright?" Gary asked. Jessie calmly went about finding the insignias hidden in the gore.

"_No! I'm not alright! How would you feel if those had been human skins and bodies hung up like farm animals and made into decorations?_"

"Poor thing," the night elf said, cradling the disturbed dragon's head.

"Ugh. At this rate the group's going to turn into a mobile mental hospital," Ash commented.

XXX

"Look at that! That's quite a collection of trophies you have there. Must be at least three dozen!"

"Kai… has a bit of a personal vendetta against the Dragonmaw," Misty said. "The rest of us just… cleaned up after him." She left it at that, seeing the expression on the dwarf's face: shock, awe, and a touch of horror.

Colin cleared his throat. "Before you go, be sure to stop by the inn behind me. My sister Fanny is inside. Refugees are pouring into Thundermar from all of the torched Wildhammer settlements around us, and I put Fanny in charge of 'em. She's tough as talons, that one. But she might need your help."

"Your sister's name is Fanny? That's… unfortunate," the rogue muttered, looking disturbed.

Ash tried not to laugh. As they walked to the inn, he said, "God, can you imagine being named Butt?"

"Err… It… Uh, in Gilneas, it means… something else entirely…" Tracey cleared his throat awkwardly. "Don't ask me how I found that out. You don't want to know. I certainly didn't." He shuddered. There was a very long and awkward pause. The adventurers entered the inn.

"Hello," James said, "your brother sent us."

"Me brother sent you? Good! Can ye hold yer own in a fight?"

"Of course."

The man sitting next to her spoke up. "I'm the Low Shaman. I'm here to take over the shamaninin…in', while the High Shaman is busy. I have somethin' to ask of ye. Cho'gall keeps track of his minions through these funny magical balls: 'The Eyes of Twilight'. If I could get me hands on one of those, I bet we could use it to look in on Cho'gall and see what his creeps are up to. Get me one! Search the Black Breach, east of here and just north of the river. Find me an Eye of Twilight, and do whatever you gotta do to bring it back here."

"Stealing things is right up my alley," the rogue said.

"Good. Now go get it."

"Anything else?" Ash asked. Neither dwarf had anything else for them to do, so the heroes set out. They were stopped, however, by a gnome.

"Excuse me. My name is Nivvet Channelock. I'm working on a drake-harpoon gun to fight the Dragonmaw by taking out their brainwashed dragons. I need some parts that are difficult for a humble engineer like myself to obtain. Would you be kind and fetch them for me?"

"Depends. What sort of parts?" Brock asked.

"Well, the conflagration in what was once the home of the Humboldts is overrun with elementals. I'll need their fiery cores and any spears you find in the wreckage. I'll also need elementium springs. The coils the Twilight's Hammer uses to bind earth elementals should work."

"Well, the conflagration's a bit out of our way," Starwisp began.

"No it's not," Colin interrupted. "The Twilight's Hammer is to blame for the fire, and the survivors say it were the work of one Magmalord Falthazar. He's an ascendant. He's a creature of pure fire. And he'll soon be a creature of pure dead! Go kill Falthazar at the Humboldt Conflagration and bring me his head!"

"Looks like it's time to split up then," Ash said.

"I'm not sure," Gary muttered. "Remember what happened when we split in Deepholm?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but splitting seems like a good idea to me," Tracey said. "Someone else can deal with the elementals while I go with another group to steal the Eye of Twilight."

"You know, that's a good idea," Gary suddenly said. "Misty, why don't you come with me? Your vaporeon should pack a punch against the elementals and I'm right at home in the flames." At first she was going to comment in shock about the mage agreeing with Tracey, but then she realized why he'd changed stances so suddenly. He responded to her expression with an exasperated "What? It's only logical!"

"Alright. You have a point this time."

XXX

Gary, Misty, James, and Brock fought their way through the fire elementals in the inferno. The mage collected their fiery cores, too hot to touch, by drawing their essence into a ball of flame that followed him around. The paladin gathered the spears, tempered by elemental flame, that were scattered around the ruins. Her pokemon kept them all safe by putting out the flames in a path before them. Meowth tagged along as well. His keen eye helped find whatever the adventurers were looking for.

XXX

"There it is," the rogue said. He and his allies fought through the earth elementals. Tracey then went to take the purple orb, but it startled him by turning to look at him.

"You seek my sight, human? My powers come at a price. These disciples of the Twilight have been honoring me with the blood of Wildhammer dwarves from the nearby ruins, but still I thirst. Perhaps you can do better. Slay my old masters, and my vision is yours. Honor me with the slaughter of the Shaman of the Black. Blood is blood, after all."

"Oh. It's one of those artifacts," Jessie said. "Stealing it won't work then."

"Two birds, one stone," Ash said. "Kill Twilight Cultists, and get blood for the blood orb."

XXX

"Here are the parts you wanted. Except the springs. The others should be back with those soon," Brock said. The paladin presented the head of the fire ascendent to Colin, who was pleased.

XXX

"Very well then, humans. You have purchased my services in blood. Take me back to the 'Low Shaman' of Thundermar. Oh yes, I already know where you're taking me. His meager, ale-soaked abilities are trivial. But you – you fascinate me, warlock. With my sight and your abilities, imagine the havoc we could unleash into this pathetic world together..."

Ash began to worry immediately. If anyone in the party could be seduced with promises of power and gold, it was Jessie. "Don't listen to it. Just let me carry it."

"No, that's alright." The warlock scooped up the orb and held it tightly against her chest if anyone tried to take it.

XXX

Reunited, Quel'Delar's Chosen took the orb to the Low Shaman. "You found one? A gen-u-ine Eye of Twilight? Lemme see. Oh Gods. It's lookin' at me. It's lookin' right back! I need a drink. Can you face that thing toward the wall or somethin'?"

"It doesn't work that way," Jessie said.

"That thing gives me the willies, it does. But seein' as you went to all the trouble of bringin' it here, I s'pose we ought to put it to use. Peer into the eye and ask it to show you inside Cho'gall's Bastion of Twilight. We'll find out what that fat two-headed bugger is up to, and use it against him."

Unexpectedly, Jessie cut her own hand open with her dagger. She let her blood drip down onto the orb. Her eyes unfocused and moved as though she were looking at something entirely different than what was in front of her. An expression of shock and disgust crossed her face, then anger.

She saw a two headed ogre with an X carved into his chest and eyeballs all over his body. One head was bearded and had two eyes, looking quite wise. The other head had only one giant eye and looked positively insane. Two figures knelt before him: a woman with blonde hair and a man with teal hair.

"The portal is nearly ready, master," the woman said. Jessie knew _her_. Cassidy. Now the warlock had a brand new reason to hate her. "With Deathwing in Kanto, not only will his enemies be unable to properly fight him, but he will be able to spread glorious destruction to a world that will never suspect it!"

Butch brought bad news to Cho'gall: "But there is a problem. The Alliance is interfering. They've amassed on the shore."

"This changes nothing," the wise head growled. "_Nothing,_ _nothing! Kill them all!_" screamed the insane head. "Now, what of our agents in Stormwind?" "_Stormwind! The eye! The eye sees into the City Heart!_"

"Um," Cassidy rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Our agents have been outed and killed, master. We have reason to believe it was Sketchit. Again."

"_Blaspheme! Blaspheme disgust hate hate..._" the crazy head wailed. "No matter. Where one eye closes, another opens," the bearded head said. "_The Master sees all! The Master knows all!_" "We will know our enemy's hearts, for they are weak. What of Giovanni?"

The adventurers could tell that something was wrong, terribly wrong, by the expression on Jessie's face. They began to grow increasingly worried.

The warlock continued to listen. "Still undetected," Butch said. "He's been able to acquire a couple more pokemon for our true masters."

"Good. The eye, now." Cassidy brought it over and placed it in front of Cho'gall, head bowed. "The shadow of the Master covers this world..." "_Darkness, all darkness._" "Our enemies fight one another, across the Highland. Fools." "_Blood, blood._" "Wait! There is another! A mortal dares peer into the eye!" "_Brave little plaything._" "I see you, little one! You want to see what the Eye sees, do you?" "_Show it! Show it all!_"

Jessie's head pounded and she felt like she was going to faint. Her vision zoomed out of the fortress backwards, like she was falling or being pulled by a rapidash. Then she was looking at a bleak landscape outside, with elementium towers and twilight drakes flying all around.

"Behold the chaos to come!" Cho'gall's wise head said. "_Madness, madness, bliss!_" "Do you like what you see, mortal?"

The warlock absolutely did _not _like what she saw: a flygon, a charizard, and a dragonair, all colored like twilight drakes.

Meanwhile, James finally gave in to the panic welling up inside him at seeing his companion's expressions, and suddenly struck the orb with his runeblade, shattering it. The warlock gasped as though she'd been hurt, then collapsed to her knees, shocked. "Oh no," she whispered.


	67. Ominous

The adventurers went pale as the warlock explained the situation. James gritted his teeth. "I always knew those two were rotten to the core."

"They have twilight pokemon then?" Ash asked. Jessie nodded. There was a long silence. Once again, they were caught in the horns of the dilemma. They had too many things to do at once.

"We'll deal with them later," Brock said. "Right now, we should finish our work with the Wildhammer. Then we'll deal with Giovanni and the other cultists in Kanto."

"Don't you think we should stop them from opening the portal first? If they let Deathwing out into our world…" Gary protested. "Can you imagine the sort of chaos he'd unleash in Kanto? Ours is not a world prepared for that sort of destruction! And furthermore, he'd be impossible to defeat. How much of our fighting ability relies on magic? In Kanto we don't have the luxury of casting spells left and right like we do in Azeroth. Deathwing would be unstoppable!"

"If we abandon our quest now to take on a new challenge, the cultists are free to go ahead with their Hour of Twilight. We can't let them run loose like that. If we get the Wildhammer to help us, they can keep watch over one side while we take on the other. Besides, we've got a large portion of Team Rocket fighting the cultists in Kanto."

Gary shook his head. "Maybe, but that won't do us any good if we're too late to stop the portal from opening. Do you really think low ranking Team Rocket grunts will stand a chance against the Aspect of Death? Even with the help of the Elite Four, they'd be doomed. No, we have to-"

"We're under attack!" someone shouted. Sure enough, drake riders were just arriving. The gnome had just finished his harpoon gun prototype, and rushed over to the heroes.

"Do any of you know how to use a harpoon gun? No time for beta testing; it's now or never!"

"Uh, I use a crossbow. Is that close enough?" Tracey asked. The gnome nodded and shoved the harpoon gun into the rogue's hands. Meanwhile, the spellcasters were already flinging magic up at the dragons and their riders. Kai clashed with one of the other drakes. Ash tried to shoot the enemy dragons down with a bow, as Starwisp had taught him, but he was nowhere near as good a shot as the huntress and Meowth. Pikachu shocked drakes out of the sky and vaporeon blasted the riders with powerful jets of water. There was a loud bang as the gnomish harpoon gun killed a dragon in a single shot and startled its wielder with the powerful kick and loud noise.

Colin Thundermar went up to the nearest member of Quel'Delar's Chosen. "Gary, you're from Kanto, aren't you? Well, there's one Dragonmaw among this lot, they call him Narkrall the Pokemon Tamer. I don't know where he got the beast, but the flying terror he rides is as nasty a brute as ever took to the skies over the Highlands. Gary, Narkrall is the fiend who took my father's life and left Thundermar in my hands. I can't take him on alone, but I've seen what you're capable of, mage, and you understand pokemon. Maybe together we can end this."

"What sort of pokemon is it?" the mage asked, heart sinking.

"Hell if I know what you call the creature! He had a dragon before and we shot it down. Now he has that infernal beast!" Colin pointed to a dragon circling above – it was not a black drake like the others, but a flygon. It was black with blue markings and glowing purple eyes, rather than green with red eyes as it should have been.

"That's a flygon. Jessie told me the cult had one, but if it got here that quickly then… they must have more than one. Oh, this is going to suck…" The mage took a deep breath and sighed. "Alright. Flygon is a ground and dragon type. That means it's extremely weak to ice type attacks… Frost magic. That should do it." The young sorcerer aimed an ice lance. Even if the twilight corruption gave it a dark type, the flygon would still be weak to frost magic. The lance hit home! The flygon roared and plummeted to the ground. Its terrible scream echoed through the Highlands, followed by the thud as it hit the roof of a building and rolled off onto the grassy ground. It got up and shook itself off. Narkrall, the black orc, also picked himself up, and charged. Gary locked him and his dark dragon in place with a frost nova, then channeled a blizzard spell as Colin rushed in to fight his nemesis. Absol leapt at its opponent and clamped down on the dragon's wing. The flygon responded with a shadowy fire breath attack, but in the end, the white pokemon tore its throat out and ended the corrupted creature's life.

The battle raged on. Drakes fell, and their riders fought on foot. They had only ever had the pokemon on their side, and didn't know how to fight against them. They were easily cut down by Quel'Delar's Chosen. When all was over, Colin looked at them in shock. "We did it! Narkrall Rakeclaw lies dead at my feet, and Thundermar has weathered a storm of drakes! This wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for the help of the Alliance. I owe you a debt that I don't think can ever be repaid."

"Will you side with us, then?" Misty asked.

"After the licking we just gave 'em, the Dragonmaw assaults on Thundermar ought to stop. Maybe the Wildhammer do have a place in your Alliance – we Thundermars certainly owe you. Up in Kirthaven, our Grand Shaman Lachlan MacGraff has been trying to arrange a summit between the surviving Wildhammer family leaders. It's a tall order to get us all to work together, but I'm at least willing to give it a go. Let's head out!"

XXX

"Ah, Quel'Delar's Chosen. Keegan Firebeard here has told me all about your heroics down south. Thank you for all of your efforts on behalf of the Wildhammer. I see Colin Thundermar is right behind you. The summit is ready to begin! Let's see how this unfolds…" Lachlan cleared his throat. "Friends. The Wildhammer way of life is threatened. Our enemies are too numerous for us to remain isolated from one another. We must unite!"

"Unity? Now?" Keegan said. "The Thundermars weren't exactly unitin' when them Twilight Shaman tore open our stronghold on the shore."

"Oh, that's just like a Firebeard, can't see anything past yer own fat nose. We were up to arses and elbows in Dragonmaw. But did you send a single bird to help? No!" Colin snapped.

"Gentlemen, please-!" Lachlan tried to keep the two from fighting.

"Thundermar, if we weren't on holy ground I'd pop you one so hard yer shoes would be the only thing left standin'!" Keegan waved his fist.

"I don't have to take this. I'll be part of no Alliance that has a Firebeard innit. That's me final word!" With that, Colin stormed off.

Lachlan sighed. "Ach! This'll be harder than I thought."

Quel'Delar's Chosen went outside. Kurdran was waiting for them. "I heard the whole miserable thing from out here. I was hoping my old Wildhammer brothers could work things out among themselves, but it doesn't look like it. We are going to have to get creative."

"And how do you suggest we get them to cooperate?" the paladin asked.

"The answer is in the blood! Family bonds have kept these Wildhammer clans apart from one another. It'll take family bonds to glue 'em back together. It's a long shot, but we're going to have to play matchmaker!"

There was a pause. "I think I'll just be going away then," Tracey said, "because relationships like that seem to fail catastrophically whenever I show up…" He was beginning to feel like a living bad luck charm.

"Hey!" Gary snapped. "Are you suggesting that Misty and I have a failing relationship?"

"_Gary! Not now!_" the paladin interrupted. "Tracey, that was a terrible choice of words! Don't say things like that!" The antagonism was getting to the point where she was snapping at both of them, despite Gary being the one at fault.

"See what I mean?" the rogue muttered sheepishly. Starwisp yelled at the younger adventurers to shut up, and they reluctantly listened to her before a fight broke out.

Another long pause. "On second thought, maybe this isn't the right group for such a plan," Kurdran said, stroking his beard.

"No, it's fine," Ash said. "They're just going through a rough patch. Who knows, maybe this whole thing will help repair their relationships too."

"Well… Alright then. I'll track down Colin Thundermar and talk with him. You should talk to Keegan Firebeard inside. He's sharp enough to understand a political marriage. Go find out if he fancies anyone!"

XXX

"What? Kurdran's talkin' marriage! Didn't he just see me an' ol' Thunderface tearing each other new ones? The only eligible Thundermar is Fanny. Now, I'll give you this, she's got the looks alright. All lumpy in the right places, if you hear me. But she's not got that somethun' somethun' a Firebeard looks for in a woman, right?"

There was a silence from the adventurers, long and awkward. Thankfully, it was broken by a Thundermar screaming for help and babbling about how Fanny had been kidnapped by ogres, although some of the heroes thought that was just a _bit_ too convenient to be the case.

Though the sun was low in the sky, they had no choice but to join the attack on the ogres.


	68. On Pins and Needles

Colin was, of course, glad to see his allies. "Good to have you fighting at my side again! And I see the Firebeards have come as well. I suppose they'll provide a distraction while me and my boys do the heavy lifting."

"Any sign of Fanny?" the night elf asked.

"No. Get to killin' ogres and help us search, will you?"

"You tried that cave yet?" Jessie asked. Colin shook his head. "Right. Then we'll go there first."

It was nothing new. Keegan Firebeard came along with them and helped to kill ogres in the cave, but it was nothing they had not done a thousand times before. They were, however, puzzled when they came across ogres already dead.

"Took yer sweet time, didnt'cha?" Fanny stepped out from behind a rock.

"The ogres - ya kilt 'em!" Keegan exclaimed, shocked.

Fanny started to walk away. "Aye, they was gettin' a wee handsy, so I took care of it. C'mon then. I'm done here."

Keegan stared after her. "Did you see that? What a woman! She's a real powder-keg that one. She'd make a fine Firebeard! Y'think the Thundermars would go for it?"

"Well, _that_ was easy," Starwisp commented. She shook her head and muttered something that sounded like 'dwarves' under her breath.

Quel'Delar's Chosen reported back to Colin. "Fanny is safe, now! I hear Firebeard was in there with you? Nice to hear he's finally pulling his weight." There was a pause as the heroes exchanged glances and then looked back to Colin. "Wait, why are you all looking at me like that? Do you know something I don't?"

"_Well,_" Brock said, "you could say that…"

"Keegan wants to marry your sister," Starwisp said, bluntly.

A moment passed before Colin raised an eyebrow. "…What?"

"You heard me."

"…Firebeard? …Wants to marry my sister? I swear the world's gone mad…"

"Kurdran thinks it'll help bring the clans together," the paladin said.

"Maybe he's right. A nice normal wedding would ease everyone's mind... and maybe cool off Firebeard a little. It was great to actually work together here against the ogres. Well, it's all up to Fanny then. We'll ask her tomorrow."

XXX

The gloomy forest was eerie, quiet, shadowy. No sounds, no signs of animal life. Plenty of plants, but not even moths, rats, or owls stirred in the starless dark. The moon was full and ominous – like a giant eye staring ceaselessly from gaps in the black clouds, which, though they moved, never once covered the pale globe. The trees offered no protection from its gaze with their black, spindly limbs and withered leaves. The fog held low to the ground so as not to obscure the piercing stare of the all-seeing white eye. The dark, forbidding forest was chilled to the core, though no wind stirred it. It was as still as death, as black as a crypt, lifeless.

Tracey felt an inexplicable compulsion to remain perfectly still. He slowed his breathing and dared not move. He could not shake the feeling that a thousand hidden eyes watched him; an increasing desire to look over his shoulder. Something could be right behind him. Don't look, don't look, don't look. What if he did look? What if he didn't? Was it better to stand as still as the murky forest around him, or to move, to look, to perhaps run? He decided to move, despite the pit of uneasiness in his gut.

There was nothing there. Tracey sighed in relief. Still, the nervousness remained. The woods were too quiet. The boy looked around at the environment – the same in all directions. He knew he was in human form, too, despite the light of the moon. In his old clothes, too – the ones he'd worn before taking up the black leather and cloak of a rogue. Back in his own world. He looked at his left arm – the scar was still there. Hideous. The marks of many teeth that had pierced and torn his flesh – the worgen bite that had cursed him. The bite itself had lasted only a few seconds, but the effects would last the rest of his life. How long would that be?

Steps along the path. The crunching of leaves, gravel, dirt. One step, then another. A tiny figure emerged from the fog: a young girl in a blood red cloak and hood, with ginger hair and sea blue eyes. Of course, all the colors were muted by the darkness, except where the moon's harsh glare exposed them.

"What are you doing out so late? A little kid shouldn't be walking alone in the woods in the dark," the rogue said.

"I'm going to Grandmother's house," she replied. "But I got lost."

For some reason, Tracey knew exactly where Grandmother's house was, and how to get there. He pointed up the road. There was a fork in the path some long distance ahead, obscured in the fog. "There are two roads. Which will you take? The path of pins, or the path of needles?"

"Oh! Thank you, sir! I'll take the path of pins. I can pick flowers for Grandmother on the way."

"Why don't I walk with you? You shouldn't be out on your own in the darkness."

"Oh, no," said the girl. "Mother says I shouldn't walk with strangers, nor give them my name."

"Better to walk with a stranger than alone in the dark. But if I give you my name, I won't be quite so strange, now, will I? You can call me Tracey."

"I guess that sounds reasonable," the girl said. They began to walk down the path. No matter how far they walked, the fork in the road never seemed to get closer or clearer. The scenery never changed – always dark, skeletal trees impossibly thick and obscuring on the sides, yet thin enough above the path to never once block the moon. It continued to stare, its harsh light the only thing keeping the suffocating shadows at bay – at once too well and not well enough. "Mister Tracey, are there wolves in this forest?"

The rogue hesitated. "Yes." He didn't look at the girl as he answered.

"Are they… _mean_ wolves?"

Another long pause. Tracey thought on the question for a while. "I don't know," he replied quietly. "Sometimes…"

"Grandmother says that wolves are just like dogs, and only bite because they're hungry or scared," the little girl in the red cloak said. "But werewolves are more like people. Grandmother says only people can be mean for the sake of being mean, because they think. I think werewolves are scarier than regular wolves."

A chill ran down Tracey's spine. "That might be true. But people can be gentle too," he said. Then he added, "So can wolves, I suppose." The black sky was beginning to turn deep crimson. Not as it would at sunrise. It wasn't even a light crimson. It was still terribly dark. It was like the sky was bleeding in the darkness. At least they were almost to the fork in the road.

"Grandmother says gentle wolves are the most dangerous kind."

"Why's that?" the rogue answered nervously. A twig cracked behind him! Tracey turned to look. There was nothing in the shadows that he could see, but when he turned back to where the girl had been standing, she was gone. She'd run up one of the paths. Try as he might, Tracey couldn't remember the path she said she would take. He guessed needles, and took that path.

On he went. The sky became increasingly red while never growing any lighter. The boy's limbs began to ache, his joints sore as though from taking too shocking an impact. He shivered in the cold, hair standing on end. There was no sign of the girl. Finally, he caught sight of a house – Grandmother's house. And there was the girl, knocking on the door. The lights were not on, save a single dying candle in a window, obscured behind the curtains.

The sky was red; the world was red; the girl was wearing bright red and her red hair stood out like a beacon, and the worgen could not slow himself or stop but picked up speed as the red haze clouded his vision and his thoughts. He snarled; the girl turned to see the wolf-man running toward her with claws outstretched and teeth bared.

Blood! Warm blood splashed over the cobblestone wall and window of Grandmother's house, mixed with the dirt and matted the worgen's fur. The wind picked up and howled with the girl's screams as the terrible fangs and claws tore her limb from limb – slash, slice, crunch, rend, tear! Blood everywhere! The gentlest werewolf could be the most vicious and the girl should not have talked to a stranger, least of all a shady one! Only a werewolf would attack without hunger or fear, and the rogue was one.

Tracey's eyes snapped open in a panic. The worgen clawed at whatever it was he was curled up on – something soft. His claws tore right into it. His muscles had gone tense, preventing him from letting out a loud yelp, but a strangled sound still came from his throat. What had he done? Where was he? Heart pounding, the worgen looked around. Darkness – not the same darkness. The moon, through a window, shed silver light on the room. Beds. He was on a bed. In the others, people. A girl with red hair stirred – the cloaked one? No. Older than the cloaked girl. Misty.

"Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost," she whispered.

The rogue didn't reply. He was too busy trying to restore his breathing and heart rate to normal levels. He continued to glance around the room in fear, trembling.


	69. Resolution At Last

Misty got up and went to her friend's side. "Are you okay?" she asked again.

"N-nightmare," the worgen managed to whisper. The paladin frowned. She didn't know how to comfort him, but seeing him like this tore her apart. After a moment's hesitation, she sat down on the bed, next to the curled up, trembling beast. She couldn't comfort the human side of her friend, but maybe she could appeal to the animal side – calm the wolf in him. Reluctantly, she reached out and scratched the worgen behind the ears. He was too freaked out to protest about the awkwardness, and besides, it _was_ comforting. He eventually lowered his head – resting his snout on her knee like a dog would. It was something neither would ever have done while he was in human form, but his beast form somehow made it less intimate, less awkward. No different, really, than if a growlithe were to rest its head on Misty's lap and let her pet it. Unfortunately, not everyone saw it that way.

Someone else stirred. Misty wasn't the only one who'd been awakened by the strangled yelp. "Really?" Gary growled. "Right in front of me? I'd had my suspicions that something was going on, but _right in front of me?_ Haven't you got any shame? Any _conscience?_" The mage got out of his bed.

"Gary, please," the paladin pleaded in a hushed whisper. "This isn't what it looks like!"

"Of course not," he replied sarcastically, "what else would you say? You're only letting him _rest his head in your goddamn lap while you stroke his hair!_"

"Please, keep your voice down!" Misty pleaded. "I can explain this, okay? Just be quiet an-"

"_Be quiet? I wake up to see my girlfriend cheating on me and you want me to be quiet?_"

Misty looked like he had just slapped her across the face. "Don't talk to her like that!" Tracey growled, lifting his head and baring his teeth. The worgen's fur bristled. "She's right, it isn't what you think it is! She would never cheat on you!"

"Well you better damn well prove it," the mage said, glaring at the girl, "or this relationship is as good as _over_."

The paladin's pain and shock now turned to anger. She stood, grabbed both boys and forcefully dragged them outside before the inevitable conflict could wake the others. She then shoved them aside as soon as they were out of the building. She clenched her fists and tried to hold back tears.

Tracey was also torn between sorrow and anger – or in his case, guilt and anger. He'd never meant for any of this to happen. But anger was the more dangerous emotion. His medication only kept the moonlight-induced rage in check. If an outside source drove him into a rage, he would still be as dangerous as ever. The worgen tried to keep his anger in check, but couldn't help drawing his lips back to display his flesh-rending teeth, and letting out a quiet growl.

"You want to fight, fleabag?" the mage asked, glaring at the worgen.

"Do not provoke me," Tracey said. "You would not like to see what happens when I get angry. It's very hard to anger me, but you're certainly getting there."

"Well you've already pissed _me_ off!"

"Shut up!" Misty interrupted. "You don't listen, Gary! Ever think that maybe there's more to the world than what _you_ see? More than one way to look at things? But _no,_ in your mind there's the Wrong Way and there's Gary's Way. If you would give me a chance to explain I could clear this all up before you get your face torn off by an angry worgen!"

Gary was silent, at least. That last line had hit home – he was well aware that she was right: Tracey could very _easily_ kill him if provoked to it. Yes, he was a powerful mage, but that didn't necessarily make him a match for the massive werewolf. He wouldn't admit in any way that he was wrong, but at least he was waiting for Misty to continue instead of interrupting her. "Explain, then!"

She paused for a moment to compose herself. "I never would have let him do that in his human form. I don't think he would have wanted to either. I'm sorry to say this, Tracey, but you're not entirely human anymore. There's a wolf side to you too." The girl looked at Gary. "Would you have thrown a fit if I'd let your arcanine rest its head on my lap? No! This was hardly any different! I couldn't approach him as a human so I approached him as a dog. How do you calm a scared dog? You scratch him behind the ears. What else was I supposed to do, Gary? Sit there awkwardly with no idea how to comfort a friend?"

"_He's not a dog, though!_" the mage protested. "He's a person too – you don't do that with a person unless… unless it's intimate!"

"Wolves are just like dogs," Tracey muttered guiltily, "but werewolves are more like people…"

"What?"

"Nothing."

Misty just continued the argument. "But I never would have done that with him in human form!"

"What difference does it make? He's the same person no matter what shape he takes!"

"I-it's just different!" Misty knew the last point the mage had made was correct. He had a point, and now she was the one feeling guilty. She tried not to cry. "I didn't mean it that way and he knows that!" The worgen agreed with a nod.

"Oh, sure, sure," Gary said, folding his arms over his chest.

"I'm not lying to you! Paladin's honor, I swear!"

"What in Elune's name is going on out here?" The three combatants turned to the doorway. Starwisp had been woken by all the ruckus and had come out to investigate. Everyone started to spill their own version of the story to her. "One at a time!"

XXX

When the sun came up, Starwisp explained quietly to those not directly involved what was going on and how she'd temporarily diffused the situation by simply forbidding any of the three to interact with each other in any way. "What they need, first and foremost, is some time away from each other, to cool down."

Brock agreed. "We should continue our business and split the party as soon as possible to separate them. There's no use trying to resolve the fighting when it's reached this point."

As the adventurers went to ask Fanny what she thought of the diplomacy plan, the night elf kept watch over the three troublemakers. They didn't dare start another conflict with her hovering over them like that. As it turned out, the young dwarf agreed to the plan, and the clans were set into a frenzy of preparation. It was the perfect excuse the split the party into three groups.

Kai, Brock, and Misty were to escort a group of dwarves with their beer – what dwarven celebration would be complete without beer? – through Dragonmaw-infested mountains. Team Rocket and Tracey would steal supplies from a goblin zeppelin repair station, including the silk used for the balloons. Finally, Starwisp would take her boys hunting to gather venison for the feast. Perhaps splitting up would help ease tensions and distract the combatants from their personal problems.

It worked at first, although Misty and Gary both brought the topic up to their respective groups and discussed it a bit, getting outside opinions on the situation, emotional tension being occasionally dissipated by brief intermissions to fight with orcs or land the killing blow on a deer. Both groups offered insight and commentary that helped calm them, new points of view, and pearls of wisdom.

It was all doomed to backfire, of course. By chance, two of the groups crossed paths. Ash tried to direct his old friend away from the other group by tugging on his cloak, but it was too late. Theft had been easy and quick for the rogue and his allies, and they were on their way back to the dwarf town when they happened to cross the place where the night elf had taken the two boys to hunt. The mage had seen them and conflict was inevitable. Jessie, James, and Meowth, of course, wanted nothing to do with it, and tried to slip away before something dragged them in.

Gary yanked his cloak away from his friend's grasp and rushed headlong into the conflict. A look of weary dismay crossed the rogue's face. "Don't think this is over yet," Gary growled.

"I don't want to fight you," Tracey sighed. "I never wanted any of this to happen."

Starwisp held Ash back. "Hold it. Sounds like they may finally talk this out. We may get a resolution out of this. Just let them be…"

"Oh, _sure _you didn't. Ever since you showed up, there's been nothing but trouble," the mage said. "You pop up out of nowhere and the next thing I know, everything revolves around you. You blow in out of the desert and steal my girlfriend right from under my nose. And you say you don't want to fight?"

"I never stole her from you, Gary. She loves you. Or at least she did. I can't be sure of that now, given the way _you've_ been treating her. If anyone's broken your relationship with her, it was _you_."

"Oh, so now it's _my_ fault? I ought to beat the shit out of you…" Gary clenched his fists.

"Can't you see past your own goddamn nose for one blasted second?" Tracey finally snapped. Even Gary was caught off guard. Tracey was the one member of the group who almost never swore, rarely raised his voice, and was generally a very mild-mannered individual. Even the mage had to admit that. "Try to see things through any lens other than your own! You go into all attempts at mediation under the assumption that Misty has been cheating on you, that I'm trying to ruin your life – if you would just stop and try to view things from another point of view…!" The rogue stopped and clenched his fists for a moment. He took a deep breath, sighed, and said in a much calmer voice, "Sorry for that outburst. Look, I'm willing to talk this out with you if you'll only listen instead of trying to attack me at every opportunity."

The mage thought back to what Starwisp had told him: to see the whole forest, one had to move from their own position. Only by changing one's point of view could one see around the trees. After a pause, Gary nodded.

"The first thing I want to tell you is that I'm not interested in dating Misty. Even if I were, I wouldn't act on it."

"Why not?"

"First, I'm not the right guy for her anyway. I can see that, so can you. So can she. Second, I would – and do, as a friend – want her to be happy. And it seemed, at least, that being with you did make her happy."

"Then why did she ignore me and start fawning over you instead?"

The rogue sighed. "Look, I have… problems. As a paladin, she feels compelled to fix all problems she comes across. That's just in her nature. That's the Light in her. She gets upset when other people are upset. You should know that. You of all people should know her better than anyone. I know I'm not the right guy for her, but seeing how you treat her and think of her, I'm not sure you are either."

The tension that had died down flared right up again. "What was that for?"

"Gary, think about it. Can you honestly say you know her well if you would accuse her of things that go so deeply against who she is? Or is your vision just clouded by your own fears and jealousy? Does this scheming, lying, cheating bitch you've made her out to be sound at _all_ like Misty?"

The mage sighed in defeat. "No, it doesn't."

"For your sake and hers, I really hope your judgement was impaired by your own insecurity. If you honestly thought for any reason but paranoia that Misty would even think of doing something like that, especially to you, then I don't believe you even have the right to say you know her, much less that you love her."

The other four heroes watched silently from a distance, tense. They knew from the moment all of this started that the situation would either explode like a time bomb or fizzle like gunpowder in the rain. Thankfully, it seemed that the clouds had finally been merciful enough to pour out enough rain to keep the powder from _ever_ going off.

"You made her cry, you know," the rogue said.

"Alright, alright, I get it!" Gary snapped. "I owe her a major apology."

"Yes, you most certainly do," Tracey said. He had learned a thing or two from Mollie Gee, and one of those things was how to give someone, as she would put it, 'a right bollocking'.

XXX

"Was the raid a success?" Giovanni asked. His persian yowled as though to second the question.

"We've secured several evolution stones, Boss. But… if I could ask… why do we need so many?"

Giovanni smiled darkly. "For experiments with evolving pokemon more powerfully than under normal conditions, of course." This grunt couldn't handle the truth. Few of them could. How convenient that the best source of elemental energy was also widely used for pokemon evolution. It provided a perfect cover for what he told the grunts. Only the higher-ups and those already working with the Twilight's Hammer knew the true purpose.

XXX

"A big day, Firebeard. The Wildhammer united can never be stopped!"

"I hope you're right, Kurdran, old friend," Keegan said, nodding.

"Never doubt it. Here, allow me to give you my wedding gift." Kurdran pulled an egg out of his sack. "The only surviving egg of my late gryphon, Sky'ree. Honor it and care for it; her child is yours.

Keegan was shocked. "Kurdran – no, I couldn't. Sky'ree was a legend, I can't-"

"I'll not hear a word of it. The egg is yours. I want you to see how committed I am to this union. And how committed the Alliance is to the Wildhammer cause!"

"Aye. Thank you, Kurdran."

"Look! Here comes your bride!"

A lutist began to play as the female dwarf walked down an aisle between the rows of stone benches, dressed in white. Several dwarves wiped tears from their eyes.

The dwarf, Grundy, who was performing the ceremony, cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentledwarves," he paused, glancing at the heroes, "and humans, night elf, and dragon… we gather here in the shadow of Thunderstrike to honor the union of Fanny Thundermar and Keegan Firebeard. May their bond be as eternal as the wind, waves, stone and fire. Do you, Keegan and Fanny, accept one another into your lives, that two become as one, in union everlasting?"

The two dwarves said, together, "I do."

"Then, by the powers vested in me... the powers vested in me..." Grundy's grin turned dark and his eyes started to glow. "_By blood and by shadow! I shall consume your lifeblood in the name of the master!_" Every hand went to a sword hilt or other weapon, or failing to find that, a beer mug. Completely unexpectedly, but hardly surprisingly, Grundy cast a spell that turned him into a faceless one.

"The Twilight's Hammer ruins everything," Ash said, drawing his weapons.

"It's one o' them!" someone shouted.

"Kill it! Kill it!" another dwarf yelled.

Of course, dwarves being dwarves, they all – including the bride and groom – essentially threw themselves at the monster and started attacking it. Starwisp shot the faceless creature in its trunk – or at least what the elf assumed was a tapir-like trunk. Ash tried to get around all the dwarves swarming the creature to bash it with beer mugs or fists, and ended up stabbing over their heads. The tentacled arms picked up people at random and tossed them aside, or swiped at the crowds to throw them away.

Misty stood back and healed anyone who was injured by the terrible servant of the Old Gods. Brock, Jessie, James, and Gary cast spells at the fiend from afar. Pikachu climbed up on Aeroth's back and the owl circled over the faceless one to let the pokemon have a clear shot at it. Meowth shot arrows at the monster when he could. The rogue joined with crossbow bolts.

Eventually, the beast fell. Dwarves whooped and cheered all around, rushed to get more beer and toasted the victory. "Tha's the way we Wildhammer... get hitched, it was!" Colin shouted. He hiccuped. "That were beautiful!"

"_Best! Wedding! Ever!_" another dwarf shouted.

"Ey, they havenae been pronounced man an' wife yet!" a more observant individual exclaimed.

It was Misty's duty, as a paladin, to fill in. She picked up the book that Grundy had dropped. She called the cheering dwarves to silence. "Picking up where we left off before being so rudely interrupted…" She opened the book. "By the power vested in me by the Holy Light, I now pronounce you husband and wife, Keegan and Fanny Firebeard. You may now kiss." The cheering began again.

"You can do marriage ceremonies?" Ash asked.

"Technically, yes. As a paladin, I'm allowed to do that."

The mage cleared his throat. "Hey, Misty? Um… I was going to give you this, but that thing kinda ruined the moment. Um, I owe you a major apology." He offered her a bundle of purple flowers – twilight jasmine. "I shouldn't have been so jealous and aggressive. I should have had a lot more faith in you. I don't know why I ever though you would lie to me or betray me. That wouldn't be like you. I should have trusted you and listened to your side of the story. I should never have said those things to you like I did this morning. I don't know what's gotten into me. I just want to say… I'm sorry."

The paladin paused for a moment before answering. "I'm sorry for neglecting you. And for being too intimate with a friend. I can't make arbitrary distinctions like I did. A person's a person."

"You don't need to apologize. This was my fault. I owe Tracey an apology, too, but mostly you. I've treated you terribly and I hope I've learned enough never to hurt you like that again. I'm so, so sorry."

After a moment's hesitation, she hugged him. "It's okay. I accept your apology."

"About time!" Meowth commented.


	70. No Such Thing as a ScareCrow

One dwarf was crying instead of cheering. "Me own son!" he wailed. Brock tapped him on the shoulder. The man fell to his knees at the shaman's feet. "I can't believe it. Me own son – me own flesh and blood! Throwing his lot in with those fiends from the Twilight's Hammer. Did you see what he became when he tried to destroy the wedding? Oh ... why? Why? It's that beast! The enormous mouth emerging from the earth to our west. 'The Maw of Madness!' My son said it spoke to him, but I thought it was just nightmares. The Earthen Ring is trying to destroy it. Please, you must help them! Destroy that monster!"

The heroes looked to the west. In the distance, the silhouettes of spiny tentacles waved about, just visible between the mountains.

"What is that thing?" Misty whispered.

"A Forgotten One," Jessie said. "A powerful servant of the Old Gods – like them, but lesser." The warlock shuddered. "Oh, I was afraid it would come to this."

"Well, let's go! We've got a Forgotten One to kill!" Ash said.

"I don't think you understand, Ash," the warlock told him. The warrior knew this was very serious to have Jessie address him as anything but 'twerp', especially his real name. "I don't think you are prepared for what you will see. What you will experience. For all the horrors I've seen, I doubt even I am ready. One does not encounter a Forgotten One and escape unscathed. They bend reality. Many who see them go insane."

"I guess it's probably as close to an Old God as we'll ever encounter," Gary said. Jessie nodded.

XXX

"Brace yourselves and steel your minds," the warlock said, as the adventurers rode on. The horses, excluding Jessie's and James's, whinnied and fidgeted nervously. The felsteed simply looked uneasy, and James's horse was as dead and unresponsive to outside stimuli as ever. Misty tried to calm her charger. The rogue sat on Kai's back and tried not to look at the flailing tentacles just beyond the stone ridge. "What you are about to see is unlike anything you ever have or ever will encounter. It will make you question reality. _Be careful._"

And then, there it was. Quel'Delar's Chosen passed the stone ridge and stood upon the crater's edge, with a full view of Iso'rath. They could not look at it very long. It filled them with confusion and dread. It was, however, simply a hole in the ground, lined with teeth all the way down. Teeth, arranged without rhyme or reason, serrated and pointing inward. Anything caught in them would never come out. Around the circular mouth, tentacles flailed wildly, coming up out of the ground all around it. They were huge, purple, covered in spines and spikes.

Jessie forced herself to keep staring. No horror should bend a warlock. She would conquer it – as she conquered demons. She was _its_ master – the master of fear! A warlock would be all-powerful given the opportunity. A warlock knew no fear but saw only new ways to implement her ever-growing power. A warlock would be the master of all things. But not this – she knew Iso'rath must be destroyed. But if she could steel herself against it, then nothing that she could bend to her own will would ever compare to its horror, and could thus never break her.

"Let's move on. I don't like the energy this thing is putting out," Gary said nervously.

"No. We will come back here. You must be ready," Jessie said. "Stare at it for a good while. Get used to it. Stare for as long as you can hold onto your sanity. Desensitize yourself to its horrors. We will come back here, and you must be ready to fight without it breaking your mind. Look into the Maw of Madness!"

"Are you alright?" James asked. "You're not acting… yourself."

Jessie simply gave a cryptic reply: "I am a warlock, James." She would not let them leave until she felt they had prepared their minds for the horror of Iso'rath. Finally, without a word, she turned to go, and the others gladly followed, relieved to escape the terrible aura of the Forgotten One.

The Earthen Ring members that Quel'Delar's Chosen had encountered in Deepholm were gathered not far from Iso'rath's crater. The troll, Torunscar, greeted them all. "Brock, my brotha! You an' ya friends have chosen a harsh time to be joinin' us, but that is to our fortune. We could use ya help."

"That's our intention. We were told you were here to fight the Twilight's Hammer, so we came to help."

"Ya, mon. We be kinda caught here, though, an' we may be needin' ya help before we can turn towards dere fortress. Da Twilight have already brought Iso'rath up from da ground to the south, I'm sure ya noticed. Its tentacles have been burstin' from da ground all around us. We could use a hand beatin' them down if you be willin'."

XXX

The paladin and shaman healed the terrible wounds inflicted by the thorny tentacles, and the group retreated to the Earthen Ring camp.

"Tank ya, friends. A bit of breathin' room is helpful. I tink we can take it from here, but dere been somethin' troublin' me. A li'l druid girl came ta help us not long ago. She went ta recover da fiery hearts of da bound fire elementals in da Twilight camp. But she hasn't come back. Her name's Crow. Can ya go check on her for me? She keeps a fire-bird for a pet. If ya find it I'm sure it would take ya to her."

"Wait, Crow's here?" Ash exclaimed.

"Ya know her?"

"Let's go; Crow could be in trouble!" The warrior summoned his horse and raced off to the Twilight camp. The others had no choice but to follow after him. Kai took to the sky with the rogue on his back in order to keep up with the galloping horses and loping nightsaber.

As they reached the camp, the warrior leapt from the horse and charged, already swinging his blades, into a group of cultists.

"Ash, stop!" Misty shouted. "We don't know where she is. We should figure that out before we charge blindly into an attack!" The cultists already lay dead at the warrior's feet.

"Look," the mage said. He pointed to a fiery bird circling above the ruins of an orc building. It was unlike any bird he'd ever seen, yet strangely familiar.

"Is it a phoenix?" Tracey asked.

"No," Brock replied. "Too small. Tail's too short, too. It's not leaving streams of fire behind."

"I bet that's Crow's bird! She's probably in there," Ash said. Before anyone could stop him, he rushed into the building.

"I swear to god, Ash Ketchum, one of these days I'm going to put you on a leash," Gary muttered, following the warrior.

"That might not be a bad idea," Misty agreed.

Ash fought his way through the cultists. Pikachu helped, striking at them with lightning. One of them tried to grab the little pokemon, and dropped dead from the electric shock he received. Absol and vaporeon soon followed, charging into the fray with teeth bared. A cultist screamed as she tried to get the water pokemon off of her face, but vaporeon's teeth and claws held her in place. Absol went for the biggest target – an ogre standing over an altar.

"Go to the Nether, you fat brute!" someone shouted. Chains clinked and rattled.

"Thisalee?" Ash asked, parrying a blow from a cultist. A fireball flew over his shoulder and knocked the cultist to the ground. A holy shock then landed the killing blow.

"Ketchum? Your timing's perfect. I'm in a bit of a situation!"

The ogre bellowed as he struggled with the dark pokemon. He flung absol across the room; it hit the wall with a loud yelp. Then he let out a cry of pain as the rogue's poisoned dagger sank into his back. The ogre turned and tried to attack Tracey, but a lava bolt forced him back. Brock called up a totem that cast fireballs on its own to help.

Another cultist tried to attack the paladin, but an arrow struck her in the chest, followed quickly by a second, as Starwisp and Meowth did their part. Meanwhile, Aeroth harrassed the ogre.

The paladin covered for the warrior as he rushed over to try to help Thisalee. The night elf was chained to the altar by her ankles and wrists. Judging by the cuts and bruises around the shackles, she had been struggling against her bonds the whole time, and from the roughness of her voice, yelling at and taunting her captors as well.

"Can't you shapeshift out?" Ash asked, looking for some way to undo the locks.

"They've put some kind of spell up – I can't shift!"

The rogue had slipped into the shadows to escape from the ogre, and now reappeared next to the altar. He pulled a lock pick from his pocket. Then he set to work, fussing with the locks for only a few moments before figuring them out and swiftly unlocking them. "You must be Thisalee Crow. I've heard a bit about you."

"Yeah. Thanks for the help. You're, uh…"

"Tracey Sketchit."

"Thanks for the help, Sketchit."

"Look out!" Ash shouted, rushing to stand in front of the druid and rogue, swords raised. There was no way he'd block the ogre's blow. Misty started to cast a healing spell so it would go off as the blow connected. The punch was painful but Ash felt his bones snap back into place as quickly as they had left their proper locations. Having a healer was very useful.

Absol was back in action. It jumped up onto the ogre's back and sank its teeth into the monster's shoulder. The ogre wheeled about. The pokemon fell off, unable to grip with its claws. Brock finished it off, imbuing his warhammer with the power of elemental stone as he struck at the ogre's head.

"Boy am I glad to see you guys again!" Thisalee said, dusting herself off and trying to stay cool despite having just been rescued like a damsel in distress. The fiery bird that had been circling above the building came in through a hole burned in the roof and landed on the altar. "Pidge! You came back! I thought they'd bound you!" The druidess picked up the fire bird, which seemed to have the ability to choose whether it wanted to burn things it touched. It also seemed to be solid, just like a real bird, even though it was made of flames.

Then the trainers realized why it seemed familiar. The bird strongly resembled a pidgeotto. Made of golden flames, the parts of the bird's plumage that would be red on a normal pidgeotto were made of distinctly orange fire, and its eyes were white beads of light. It was warm and bright like a campfire, and crackled softly as Thisalee held it to her chest.

"Where did you get that?" Gary asked.

"He's my… uh, pokey-man. Pokemon? Is that how you say it? He came from the Firelands."

"So they live there too. More support for my theories…"


	71. Gaze Long Into the Abyss

"Have you got the hearts they sent you for?" Jessie asked. Thisalee nodded. "Then let's leave. We have an atrocity to slay."

"And quickly, too. We've got to hurry – Giovanni, the leader of a huge criminal group in our world, has allied himself with the Twilight's Hammer. He intends to bring Deathwing into Kanto," Gary explained. "That would be… _catastrophic._"

"Can't your pokemon hold him off?" Thisalee asked.

"Most pokemon aren't as powerful as the ones found in the elemental planes, except the Legendaries, and they're rare. Even moderately powerful pokemon are no match for the Aspect of Death," Brock told her.

Jessie added another good reason to stop the opening of the portal. "Furthermore, we're stronger here where we have access to magic. Our magic is weakened or even stamped out entirely in Kanto. The people of our world are used to peace. They're not prepared."

"Torunscar will know what to do," Ash said.

The troll was very glad to see the adventurers return safely. "You got da hearts?"

"I sure do."

"Den we're ready to attack. First, we need ta destroy its tentacles, den we'll perform a ritual ta summon a powerful fire elemental that we'll drop into its maw. I want ya ta fly out with our first group attack. Hold steady until an opportunity presents itself, den join the battle with da rest of da shaman in cutting da tentacles down. You can fly wit' us on our gryphons."

Thisalee took her bird form and Aeroth and Pidge flew with her. The mage took his usual place on the dragon's back, and the rest flew on gryphons. The fliers approached in formation and then they all circled around the flailing tentacles. At a shaman's signal, the whole group dove toward them. Unfortunately, the beast was faster than they'd realized. Several gryphons were dragged down into the maw – some with their riders, others yanked out from under them. Ash fell off his bird almost right away as it was ripped out of the sky. Thisalee wasn't far, and was able to dive faster than gravity could pull the warrior down. Latching her claws around the boy's shoulders, she beat her wings as hard as she could, slowing their descent, but she could not carry the fully-armored warrior. They sank slowly into the maw.

Kai spun out of control, falling to the side as the tentacle slammed into him. Gary barely managed to hang onto the black drake. Kai steadied himself and blasted a tentacle with fire just as it swung at him. It grabbed him by the tail but as his wings ceased to lift him he swiped across the purple flesh with his massive talons, roaring in defiance. The tip of the tentacle dropped off entirely, severed by the razor claws. He was unable to stop the third attack, coming down from above to beat him down into the monster's maw. One by one, heroes fell from the sky. Gary cast a slow fall on himself to keep from being killed by the impact. He looked up through the toothy maw. There was no way to fly back out – Kai's wings would be shredded by the bony thorns. A figure plummeted from above and the mage slowed its fall. Starwisp thanked him and immediately set to work.

Gary couldn't afford to see what was going on – he had to watch for fallen heroes and prevent their deaths. He could hear fighting. Some of the shamans were recovering from their falls. "We knew this was a possibility, but we had no idea how the beast would defend itself. Iso'rath's body is reacting quickly to our threat. I can complete the summoning from here, but only if you can hold back Iso'rath's defenses. Keep them busy! We will survive this!" a female draenei shouted. The mage wanted to look – to see what she was talking about, but he had to keep watching. He felt an acidic burning sensation at his ankles. No, he mustn't look.

The paladin didn't need rescuing – the Light was able to protect her just fine. The divine shield had completely negated all damage she would have taken from the fall. Gary tried as hard as he could but he couldn't save everyone. Some of the shaman slammed into the belly of the beast and fell unconscious. He was, however, able to save all of Quel'Delar's Chosen. Once everyone had fallen, the mage could look around. Iso'rath's body was reacting to the invasion by sending globs of red ooze to attack and upping the acidity of the stomach chamber. The mage felt dizzy as he realized Iso'rath was trying to digest them. The healers were already busy trying to negate the harm the acid was doing.

The heroes fought harder and harder but it seemed that Iso'rath was increasing in strength faster than they were. The casters were running low on mana. Gary stopped to use a potion and then to cast an evocation but soon he ran out of mana entirely and could only cast a single spell that he'd learned to recycle the mana from. The healers were running out as well. Thisalee tried to help Misty by casting innervate – a druid ability that infused the target with electrical impulses and mana, restoring their energy.

"I can't keep up!" the paladin yelled. Even with outside help she was running her mana into the ground. Her desperate pleas to the Light did not go unanswered, but even the gifted mana could not last her long under such strenuous conditions. The situation was desperate.

Now the oozes were swarming everyone. The heroes were weakened and the oozes were coming faster than they could be put down. Gary was able to cast area spells once in a while but even he couldn't hold them off forever. Ash was tougher than normal in his berserker rage, almost regenerating, but he too ran out of strength. The acidic burning at his feet was getting too strong and the oozes kept coming. Iso'rath was wearing them down, and though they fought back like nothing it had ever encountered, the fiend was winning.

"I'm sorry… it's over…" Misty said, defeated. She'd done everything in her power, but her mana had run out and there was no restoring it.

Gary knew they were defeated. Theirs was a lost cause. They had finally met their match. His desperation turned to hopelessness as his fighting became half-hearted. He stood no chance, not without Misty to back him. The pain grew worse and worse, until he knew only darkness.

XXX

"Wake up, hero!" a deep voice shouted.

"Wha…?" Gary muttered. He opened his eyes and immediately shut them again as the driving rain hit his face. Thunder boomed and wind howled. "Where am I…?" He sat up. His whole body ached.

"I've recovered you from the brink of Death!" Thrall told him. "Hurry! Deathwing has appeared and we are not prepared. If you do not help us, the world will end today!"

Gary shakily stood up. He looked around. Kanto! Near his home! He could see his grandfather's lab not too far away. How had he gotten there? Why was Thrall there? "W-what? Deathwing's gotten into Kanto?" He brushed his hair out of his eyes. It hung loose over his face, soaking wet. The rain fell mercilessly, chill winds whipping it into a stinging fury, numb stars of icy pain in every drop. Clouds obscured the sky, lit up occasionally by lightning. Gary could hardly hear through the sounds of the screaming wind and rain and thunder. Sheets of water poured down from the heavens, making it difficult to see. He shivered from the cold.

"Everyone in the town to the South has already been killed, as have all your allies. You are our only hope!" Gary felt dead inside. Everyone? His grandfather? Everyone in his home town? It couldn't be! And his allies! Misty was gone? Ash?

"There! He comes! Deathwing comes!" Thrall began to channel a spell. The mage looked up in horror. The black dragon, molten body aglow in the storm, beat slowly toward them, each flap of his wings adding to the wind. Thrall's allies attacked the black aspect, but he didn't even react. Gary tried to attack but he couldn't cast his spells. The ley lines were too weak!

Deathwing dove down and crushed something in his claws. "Nobundo! No!" Thrall shouted. Then he roared in anger. "You will die on this day, Earthwarder! Gary will see to it!"

"I can't do anything!" the mage said, panicking. "I can't attack! My spells aren't working!"

Aggra fell to the monster's flame. "No! _No! Aggra!_" Thrall's anguish could be heard in his voice. "_Do something, you useless human! My allies are giving their lives for you!_"

"_I can't!_" Gary was trying everything, but nothing he could do would so much as create a spark! He was powerless!

Deathwing's bladed tail took out the last of the shamans. "Muln falls, and the Earthen Ring dies with him…" Thrall turned to glare at the boy. "You have failed us all, Gary. Deathwing has won. The world is doomed."

"No…" The helpless mage fell to his hands and knees, too upset even to cry. Deathwing turned his attention to the orc and the human. He flew steadily toward them, locking eyes with Gary. Those piercing, hateful red eyes, fiery and burning with rage. Just like the others. Then Deathwing opened his maw and the flames came rushing forth, and there was nothing Gary could do to stop them.

XXX

"Please, wake up! You can't die on us!" someone pleaded. "Gary! Wake up!"

"…Misty?" The mage's blurry vision steadied. Dizzy and sick to his stomach, he tried to stand up. The paladin had to help him, his knees were shaking so hard.

"Oh my god, I thought we'd lost you for good."

"I had the worst dream…" Gary still wasn't quite aware of his surroundings.

"Now's not the time! Iso'rath is still attacking!"

The mage stared blankly for a moment while all his senses rushed to get back in order. The burning at his ankles had stopped. He was standing in a dome of energy projected by a shaman, and it was keeping the acid at bay. "How did we live?"

"The reinforcements have arrived – they were going to be the second strike but they arrived just in time to save us all. Come on, some of the shamans are still trapped!"

Gary reached for his pokeball but decided not to use his absol. He couldn't inflict this madness on his pokemon. They could not bear to see a fiend of the Old Gods. The mage looked around. The shamans were trying to dig something out in the center of Iso'rath, and the rest of Quel'Delar's Chosen were freeing those who were still held in internal tentacles. The mage joined the attack, helping Thisalee rescue a dwarf. Pidge and the fire elemental provided plenty of light to see by, something they hadn't had much of before.

The fighting went on, this time shifting in favor of the invaders. Eventually, the shamans dug out the thing they were after – the brain of the beast. How it was in the stomach was beyond comprehension, but as a cosmic aberration it didn't exactly make sense to mortal minds in the first place.

Everyone present swarmed the blue mass of neurons, tearing it apart as fast as possible. By this point the fight was practically already won. It only took moments for the adventurers to kill the monster forever. The mouth relaxed and opened up.

"Let's get out of here!" Ash said. The shamans healed the wounded gryphons and dragon. The beasts flew the heroes up through the thorny mouth, out and away. Another battle had been won.


	72. Dragonhaven

Back at the camp, a night elf was waiting for them. "You must be Quel'Delar's Chosen."

"That's us," Gary said, showing the elf his sword.

"Good. I know you're busy, but we need you."

The mage sighed. "There are too many quests needing someone to follow them, and not enough heroes. I'm getting the sense that the main problem here isn't in our strength but in our inability to be in more than once place at a given time."

"You'll need the red dragons to help you if you are to face Deathwing. All attempts to convince them have failed. But you…" The night elf looked at Tori. "You're good with dragons."

"I don't know if we have time!" Misty protested. "There are several things needing our immediate attention that have been pushed back already!"

"You're our only hope."

"We're everybody's only hope," Ash said wearily. "Everyone needs us and only us, all at once. I'm tired of it. We can't be everywhere at once. Even we have our limits…"

There was a long pause. "Alright. We'll do it. But you tell everyone, after this we have other things to attend to. We can't be at everyone's beck and call," Gary told her.

"You can use our hippogryphs. There's no way to get into the Vermillion Redoubt on foot."

Kai led the formation reluctantly. As a black dragon, he wouldn't exactly make a good first impression. But at Gary's insistence, he flew toward the Vermillion Redoubt. As he flew over the mountain peaks, he was struck by the majesty of the land he flew into. The grass was vibrant green, barely visible under the flowers that flourished all over amongst the stones and the ferns. The trees, ancient and elegant, had leaves colored like rubies. The lakes sparkled like sapphires and the silver fish within shone like mercury. Birds flocked around the boughs of a massive central tree, shading the mountain valley under its scarlet foliage. And of course, there were dozens of red dragons.

Several red drakes rose up from the side and attacked, snatching the adventurers off of their hippogryphs and scaring the birds away. The biggest one tackled Kai and struggled with the shocked drake all the way to the ground. Once on the ground, the red drake dragged Kai by the neck in the direction the other drakes were taking the smaller heroes. One of the drakes grabbed Gary by the cloak and carried him off as well. The drakes dropped their prisoners off in front of a red dragoness.

"Lirastrasza! We found these intruders flying over the mountain!"

"Leave them here for me," she told her drakes. Kai tried to stand up, having been roughly tossed to the ground. Lira put her claws over his head. "Stay down!" she snarled. Misty held the frightened dragon whelp to her chest. Tori whimpered. "Where did you get her?" Lira demanded.

"I hatched her myself. Her egg was given to me when her mother was killed by Deathwing."

"A likely story!"

"Are you accusing her of lying?" Gary said, stepping forward. He wasn't aware of the hypocrisy in defending Misty from an accusation that he himself had once made.

Lirastrasza lowered her head to look the mage in the eye. "Your kind have struck against mine at the gates of Grim Batol in the past. You've shown no respect for the sacred oath we would die to keep. You'll find no trust in me, human! Especially since you travel with a black drake!" She straightened up. "Fortunately for you, your fate isn't mine to decide. Go speak to Calen – and don't try anything; my drakes will be watching you the whole way." Lira released Kai.

The heroes scampered off like frightened kids. "And one more thing! If you hurt that whelp, I'll kill you all! She's worth more than all of you combined!" Lira barked as they left.

Calen, in the form of a night elf, was much more friendly. "I apologize for Lira. I'm glad she didn't scare you off. Her lack of trust is not without reason, but I won't be so impolite as to refuse your help if you're offering it." He glared at Kai. "_You,_ however, are not welcome here. I'll be watching your every move, drake." He turned back to the adventurers. "We're locked in constant battle with the twilight drakes and dragons to the south. Our strikes have not been entirely without success, but the dragons coming out of Grim Batol have been breathing some kind of corruption upon us that takes time to cleanse. Velastrasza and Baleflame are attending to our injured brothers. Go and see if you can be of help to them. If you'd like, I can watch the whelp for you. The drakes you'll find to the south specialize in killing red dragons – it would be dangerous for her to go with you."

Misty hugged Tori and handed her over to Calen. She smiled as the whelp cooed a goodbye. Tori had grown so big. Her wings were getting bigger with every passing day, her scales harder, her eyes wiser. She would grow into a majestic dragon someday. "Stay safe, Tori. I'll come back when we've chased the Twilight away."

"Okay."

Vela was in the form of a blood elf, and Baleflame was a dragonspawn – a centaur-like dragon beast, not a true dragon. They were surprised that Calen had let the adventurers in, but gladly accepted their help. They told Quel'Delar's Chosen to fight off some of the attacking twilight drakes and heal the injured dragons. Baleflame gave Thisalee some magic seeds and told her that they would return the life energy of fallen dragons of any sort to the earth. "Use them well, druid. In this, we deny Deathwing the destruction he seeks."

Immediately, the heroes found a dragon in need of their help, being attacked by four twilight drakes. Brock and Misty set to work healing the injured wyrm. Ash charged into battle right away. Thisalee took her bird form and screeched as she dove at the drake the warrior had attacked. She clawed at its face and avoided its snapping jaws as Ash drove it back, swords glinting.

James attacked another drake, striking at its nose. His teammates backed him with flames and arrows. The dragon reared up and tried to bring its jaws down onto the death knight, but he jammed the flat of his runeblade into the dragon's mouth. It took all his strength to keep it off, but he held it back, thanks to the curse of weakness the warlock had placed on the twilight drake. Meowth took the opportunity to shoot an arrow directly at the dragon's heart. The drake lurched back at the first arrow, and the second killed it.

The first drake caught Thisalee by the claw. "Let me go you scaly mongrel! I'll peck your eyes out!" Ash slammed the hilt of his sword against the dragon's head. It let go of the druid and bit the boy's arm, but his armor kept the wound from being too severe. Kai bashed his head into the twilight drake's side, forcing it to let the warrior go. The druid circled above and then dove down like a giant feathery dart. Her beak tore a gash in the dragon's neck, severing a critical artery. The dragon bled out in only moments.

Gary threw a pyroblast at the third drake. It barreled toward him and tried to slam into him, but he blinked past it. It turned around, nearly striking the shaman with its tail in the process. He tossed an ice lance at it, piercing its wing. It howled and breathed twilight fire at the mage, who darted to the side and avoided most of the attack. Gary cast a fire blast at the beast, followed by a scorch. It was stunned momentarily, giving the mage time to throw another fireball. The drake recovered and lunged. Its jaws snapped shut on open air as the boy stumbled backward and fell to the ground. The rogue struck – now was his chance; the way was clear! Tracey had a perfectly clear path to stab the drake in the back. He jumped over the swinging tail and jammed both his daggers under the plates on the drake's back. It howled and turned to attack him, giving Gary a chance to drive Quel'Delar into its neck!

"Thanks. Maybe you're not so bad after all," the mage muttered, getting up.

"No proble-"

"Look out!" The mage threw an ice lance over the rogue's shoulder. Tracey darted out of the way. A fourth drake had tried to attack from behind. Gary cast a dragon's breath spell on it, stunning the beast. An arrow struck it in the side of the head and Starwisp readied another.

The red wyrm got to his feet, healed. The remaining drake tried to take to the sky and escape, but Kai clawed its flank open, dragging it back down. Starwisp released her arrow, striking the twilight dragon in the shoulder. It tried to turn around and attack Kai, but the black drake was quicker and clamped his jaws down on the other drake's neck. They struggled until Kai's teeth sank in deep enough to end his foe's life.

Thisalee took her night elf form and high fived Ash. "That was awesome!"

"_We're _awesome!" He told her.

"Don't forget to use the magic seeds," Brock reminded the elf. Druid or not, she didn't always remember the balance.

"Relax, Harrison. I'll get to it!" The druidess pulled the magic seeds out of her pocket and planted them right next to the drakes. They grew into vines that absorbed the fallen dragons.

"We should get back to Velastrasza now," Kai said.

Their timing was perfect. Vela had just gotten word that Twilight Cultists had found a way into the Vermillion Redoubt.

"Does it never end?" Gary asked, putting a hand on his face. "We'll never stop that portal at this rate… I want to get back to Kanto and make sure things are still okay!"

"We'll get there," Misty assured him. "We're turning the tide out here. Shouldn't be much longer."


	73. Just Missed It!

"Fragile Twilight invaders litter the redoubt. They're pouring in from somewhere to the west. There can be no mercy offered to them within this hallowed place. Whatever violence grips your moral heart, release it upon them," Lira told the adventurers. "They're taking our eggs! I have no doubt that they want to take them back to Grim Batol to experiment on and pervert. I will _not_ let that happen. If you truly do want to help us, stop them! Bring back the eggs, and find out where they're coming from! Every inch of air and every hill surrounding the redoubt is constantly under the watchful eye of my drakes. They must have found a way into the shrine from beneath. Take this Flashgrowth mote. It should prove more than sufficient to close any hole, tunnel, or portal they might have used to get inside our defenses."

"Kill the cultists, recover the eggs, and seal their entry point. Got it," Brock said.

"I'll scout it out!" Thisalee said. She took her bird form and soared away.

"It's nice having a druid on the team," Ash commented.

"Don't get too attached," Gary warned.

"What? Why not?"

"Just remember what happened with Zaraia and why. I've seen how you interact with Crow. Just remember that relationships between humans and elves rarely work out. I'm just saying – for your sake, you shouldn't get too close to her."

Nobody said a word until the druid returned. "I've found where they're coming from! They've opened a portal in a cave just past the lake. They're taking the eggs through it! Let's slaughter our way in!"

The cultists didn't even stop to fight half the time, but kept running with the eggs as Quel'Delar's Chosen fell upon them. Starwisp shot her targets in the legs or threw bear traps into their paths. Gary froze them where they stood. James yanked them back with his dark magic. Then it was up to the rest of the group to kill the servants of Twilight where they stood. The paladin and shaman gathered up dragon eggs. After closing the portal, they'd return them to where they belonged.

A familiar woman with blonde hair in two long ponytails caught Jessie's attention. "Cassidy. You blasted traitor!" The warlock threw a shadowbolt at her former teammate. Cassidy looked over her shoulder, shocked. Then she ran even faster toward the entrance to the cave. She stopped just before the portal and pointed accusingly at Jessie and James, clutching the dragon egg in her other arm.

"You are too late! The portal is already open! Lord Deathwing will soon arrive in Kanto and there's nothing you can do to stop him!"

Jessie threw a bolt of soulfire, and James cast an icy blast in the woman's direction. She dodged the first spell and endured the second. She held them back by throwing a bolt of twilight fire to the ground in front of her, blocking their path.

"You've completely lost your mind!" James snarled.

"I've embraced my fate! Our true masters will favor me for it! The Hour of Twilight approaches! Are you ready for the end?" And with that, Cassidy rushed through the portal just as her twilight fire dissipated. She was not a skilled sorceress. Jessie ran after her, dagger ready, but James held her back.

"You don't know where that portal goes. Do you want to end up in the center of Twilight territory?"

"We don't have time!" Gary said. "The portal's open; you heard her! We have to stop Deathwing from destroying all of Kanto!"

"We'll return the eggs and warn the red dragons. They'll help us," Brock said, tossing the mote into the portal. A mass of vines grew in an instant and filled up the cave.

Quel'Delar's Chosen ran as fast as they could. As they ran up the hill, a small red whelp darted toward them. She spread her wings and flapped awkwardly, gliding down toward Misty. Tori landed on the dragon egg the paladin was carrying. "Good job, Tori," Misty said. She couldn't give it much thought at the time.

To their surprise, Alexstrasza, in her humanoid form, was at the great tree with the other dragons. She looked over at the adventurers. They put down the eggs in a rush and began to talk all at once.

"There's a portal to our world open and Deathwing's going to go through and-"

The Dragon Queen gestured for silence. "What?"

Gary explained what was going on while everyone else caught their breath.

"So that's what they're up to at Grim Batol…" Alexstrasza looked around, as though searching for something. "Alright, come with me. Drakes! Carry these mortals with us!" Gary quickly got onto the black drake's back, while red drakes came down from the sky to carry the others on their backs. The red Aspect took her dragon form and lifted from the ground. The drakes quickly followed. The massive group of dragons flew toward the ancient mountain fortress, Grim Batol. Twilight drakes already swarmed the area. A massive portal was open and swirling just above the fortress.

"There! In the distance!" Starwisp pointed to a shape in the sky. Deathwing was on his way! Kai and the red drakes had to fend off the twilight drakes as Alexstrasza prepared to face the black Aspect.

As he flew closer, the Dragon Queen called out. "Neltharion!"

Deathwing approached, beating fire in the air from his wings. "Life-Binder! You presume I am at your beck and call? I have worlds to unmake!"

"It pains me, Neltharion, but I must end you, as I have ended Malygos!"

Deathwing let out a terrible cackle. "End me? Life-Binder, you think life is yours to take away? Life is weak, mortal, fleeting… fragile! Death is eternal! Death is final! Death is _my_ realm! Look upon me, and you see death incarnate! I am the unmaker of worlds!"

Alexstrasza frowned. "I see the hollow metal shell of a once-great ally, and the precious gift of the Titans, wasted!"

"Then witness my new gifts, bestowed by this world's true masters!" Deathwing opened his metallic maw and blasted Alexstrasza with fire. Then he dove toward the portal! The Dragon Queen tried to stop him but only succeeded in tearing a gash in his flank.

"No!" She shouted, as Deathwing's tail vanished into the portal.

"Follow him!" Gary yelled. "We have to stop him! Kanto isn't prepared for something like this!"


	74. This World Will Burn

Deathwing looked around him as he emerged from the portal. An unfamiliar, untouched world spread out before him, full of strange cities the likes of which he'd never seen. Large, towering buildings made up these cities, forests stretched across the land. Perfect for destruction. The Aspect of Death began his reign of terror, setting out to the south, past a giant mountain. As he flew past it, he crumbled the side of the mountain. Being the Aspect of earth, his will alone could shape the stone and magma of the world, and his will was to destroy it all. The side of Mt. Moon crumbled into boulders and rolled down the mountainside.

Alexstrasza and Quel'Delar's Chosen were not far behind, and Calen came with them! They'd need all the help they could get, and though their magic was weakened in Kanto, they now had full access to their pokemon. They didn't understand why the others on hand reappeared in Kanto and vanished in Azeroth, but they didn't care. Any flying pokemon would be of aid. Gary called out his pidgeot, Ash called on his charizard, Misty called out a wingull that the others weren't even aware she had, and Brock used his zubat – it was hardly of any help, but they needed everything they could get. Aeroth and Pidge followed along as well. Pikachu clung to Ash's shoulder, hoping to get an open shot at Deathwing. The trainers instructed their pokemon to simply follow the red Aspect and do everything in their power to stop the black dragon's path of annihilation.

The paladin's heart sank when she realized Deathwing was flying toward Cerulean City. "We can't let him stop! Keep him on the move and his destruction will be minimal!"

"Neltharion!" Alexstrasza shouted. "Look at yourself! Misshapen, twisted! You're _coming apart!_"

The black dragon ignored her and flew along the edge of the city. His wing beats were powerful enough to shatter glass and cause structural failures, though modern buildings were considerably harder to destroy than their medieval equivalents in Azeroth. A tower creaked and threatened to collapse. Windows shattered out of buildings and glass rained down the streets below, still not quite recovered from the first catastrophe the city had gone through in the wake of Deathwing's escape from Deepholm. People screamed and ran. If only the heroes could catch up with the dragon! He'd tear the world apart at this rate if they were unable to catch him!

Deathwing swerved to the side, flying away from Cerulean and heading due south. Alexstrasza reacted immediately, followed by the pokemon and drakes. They were catching up!

"Oh no," Ash whispered. He realized that with the rate at which they were approaching Deathwing, if they kept going in a straight line they'd end up clashing directly over Saffron City. There was no stopping the destruction. No matter what, the clash would be catastrophic. His prediction played out: Deathwing did not swerve to avoid buildings. His wing clipped the top level of a skyscraper. From what the heroes could observe, only one person was thrown out of the building. The fates of the others were unknown – were they trapped? Safe? Crushed? Gary cast a slow fall spell on the one unfortunate soul, who floated gently to the ground.

Alexstrasza struck! She pressed her wings tight against her body, and dove at her nemesis. Deathwing, unable to change directions quickly enough, straightened up and extended his claws, slamming straight into a building. It crumpled with the impact. Steel shrieked as it bent under the black Aspect's weight. Lava leaked from the terrible dragon and poured down the side of the building, adding molten metal to the flow as the steel began to melt. He then pushed off the building and flew to the side. Alexstrasza crashed into the tower with a shriek. The steel creaked and moaned some more as the entire structure threatened to topple over. The red Aspect fell several stories before righting herself and soaring up again, trying her best to not crash into the tightly packed buildings, but it was difficult. Her wings were large and the streets narrow. Even the benevolent Life-binder could not help but collapse the top stories of a few buildings. Rubble fell down into the streets and shards of glass went flying. Her destruction was nothing compared to Deathwing, who obliterated all in his path. Lava and molten steel dropped in large globs into the streets.

Sirens and alarms went off all through the city. Everyone had to get out of the buildings and flee! Emergency broadcasts were no doubt crossing every television and radio as Officer Jenny, seeing the chaos, attempted to save her people.

"Just as all life ends in death, all order must end in chaos! Come, embrace the inevitable, as I have!" Deathwing shouted. Though Alexstrasza had been delayed, the drakes and flying pokemon were far more agile and able to move in the narrow streets. Pidge screamed and breathed elemental fire at the Earthwarder. Charizard followed suit, and wingull tried to crack the elementium plates by splashing them with water after the others had heated them. One of the drakes got close enough that Starwisp was able to shoot Deathwing with an arrow. It simply bounced right off his plated body. Thisalee was the fastest flier, and was able to catch up to the black dragon, but he swung his bladed tail and hit her. The druidess fell down out of the sky, bleeding from the gash across her chest. Ash's drake was right behind her and dropped down to catch the bird on his neck. She returned to elf form, half conscious, and Ash had to keep her from falling off the dragon's back. She healed herself quickly.

"Thanks, Ketchum." Before he had a chance to respond, she threw herself off the dragon and shifted back into her bird form, rejoining the chase.

The top half of a building that Deathwing had slammed into shoulder-first in an attempt to breathe fire back on his pursuers teetered like a chopped tree and then fell, right in front of some of the drakes. Kai roared and tried to turn away as the structure fell right into his flight path. He and Gary ended up smacking directly into it, side-first. The black drake wobbled and nearly fell from the sky, but he was able to steady himself. "You okay?" He asked his rider. Unfortunately Gary had taken most of the impact.

The mage cringed and clutched at his upper arm in pain. "My arm's broken." He tried not to look – the bone was shattered and bits were actually sticking out of his arm through the shredded sleeve.

Kai stopped and hovered, waiting for Misty's drake. "We've got an injury here!" The two drakes had to fly very close together so the paladin could cast her healing spells. They were falling behind. "Hurry!"

"That'll do," Gary said. "I can move my arm at least. That'll do for now." He was still bleeding pretty badly but at least the bone was more or less in one piece again. He picked pieces of broken glass out of Kai's shoulder as the drake flew on.

Deathwing was trying to escape from the city. Though the destruction pleased him, it was slowing him down. He couldn't fight Alexstrasza unless he had time to turn and face her instead of flying away as she attacked his flank, which would be exactly the scenario he would face if he kept crashing into buildings. He tried to fly above them, but the best bet would be to get away from Saffron City entirely. He flew southwest, toward an open field.

"He doesn't seem to be flying toward Celadon. Good," Ash said. The drake he was on had no clue what that meant, as he was unfamiliar with Kanto.

"I'll take your word for it, human," the drake told him.

Pidgeot caught up with Deathwing and dove at what appeared to be a weak point in the dragon's armor. The bird pokemon simply smacked itself dizzy and flew in circles for a few moments, having done no harm at all to the monster. A crossbow bolt bounced off another elementium plate. Nothing anyone could do was damaging the Aspect of Death!

The fliers approached Viridian Forest. "It ends here, Neltharion!" the Dragon Queen shouted. He now had enough space to turn around. Deathwing wheeled about in the sky, then flew straight at Alexstrasza, opening his mouth and blasting her and her followers with fire. Drakes, pokemon, and humanoids alike cried out in pain. Several of them crashed into a small clearing, where Misty tried desperately to heal everyone as quickly as possible. The dragon Aspects clashed in the sky, clawing and biting at each other, breathing fire. The drakes that still remained in the sky swarmed around Deathwing, trying to do some harm to him and failing entirely. One by one, they were swatted out of the sky by the clashing wyrms. They and their riders watched helplessly from the clearing as the Aspects locked claws and tumbled out of the sky! At the last moment they separated, but still neither one could pull up in time.

Entire trees were uprooted and tossed into the air as the massive dragons crashed into Viridian Forest. Flames leapt up as Deathwing's molten body set fire to the trees around him. The whole forest would burn if nobody did anything to stop it! But that was not their concern at the moment. Alexstrasza's followers rushed through the thick trees toward the place the Dragon Queen had landed. She had reverted to humanoid form and was lying in a large crater full of shattered branches and torn leaves.

They gathered around her. "The Earthwarder… is dead…" she whispered.

"Mother… Stay still…" Calen said. "Your wounds are great."

Alexstrasza sobbed. "The black Aspect's blood is cursed! Wherever it was shed, nothing will grow for ten thousand years!" She steadied her breathing. "But it is over, now. We can work to bottle up the horrors he has unleashed."

The paladin suddenly gasped while healing the Dragon Queen. The others looked to see what had shocked her, and went wide-eyed in horror. "Deathwing…!"

"He lives!" Calen said, horrified.

Shocked enough to sit up and look despite her wounds, Alexstrasza forced herself up. "Impossible!"

"We have to get out of here!" Brock said, helping Misty to heal the red Aspect.

"We must call on the Guardians," Alexstrasza said. "Quickly! Take to the skies again!"

Deathwing was already flying south. "The sun has set on this mortal world, fools! Make peace with your end, for the Hour of Twilight falls!"

"Who are the Guardians?" Ash asked, getting back on a drake.

"The Titans charged the Aspects with the protection of our world. The Guardians are much the same. That is, if they still live. For now, we must follow Neltharion!"

"Wait, the Titans have servants in Kanto too?" Gary asked.

"It's a long story and I haven't got time to tell it. Come! Fly!"

As the chase went on, it became clear where Deathwing was headed. "Oh, _shit!_" the mage said. "He's flying right toward Pallet Town! This isn't going to end well."

A glob of Deathwing's blood dripped down next to the dirt road below. The grass around it immediately turned black and shriveled up before collapsing into dust. The trainers were beginning to be demoralized by seeing all the destruction the Earthwarder was inflicting on their world. Kanto was being torn apart by the mad dragon. Misty had already seen her home town come within inches of utter annihilation at the claws of Deathwing, her family brush with death. Now Ash and Gary had to experience the same horror as the insane black dragon continued his path southward. The northernmost building was Professor Oak's lab. The windmill-like structure that served as a local landmark appeared to Deathwing as a target. He crashed into it on purpose, tearing it completely off the building. The Professor rushed out of his building moments later. Nothing could have prepared him to see Deathwing in the flesh. He leaned against the wall of the lab, clutching at his chest, having almost had a heart attack. Luckily for him, Deathwing wasn't stopping.

The dragon simply breathed fire on the town, still charred and in the process of recovering from the moltres attack. As his drake flew over the town, Ash frantically looked for anyone who might have been engulfed in the flames. He caught sight of his own house, now burning. His mother and Mimey were outside in the garden. Both were clearly alive, still standing, but they'd taken nasty burns. Ash glanced back and forth between them and Deathwing. Should he stop to help his mom? Should he continue chasing the black Aspect? "Land!" he ordered his drake.

"What? Here?"

"Yes!" The drake landed. Ash jumped off and ran to the garden. "Mom, are you okay?"

Delia was badly burned, and so was the pokemon. She didn't seem to register the pain though, and was in shock. "W-what was that thing?"

"Mom, don't move, you're badly hurt."

"That was the evil dragon they talked about on TV, wasn't it?" Delia hugged her son in a panic. "Oh my god!" She started sobbing. "He's destroying everything!"

"Yes, that was Deathwing. Mom, we're going to stop him before he destroys the world, I promise! Come on, we have to get you to the Lab. The Professor can help you with your wounds. I have to keep chasing Deathwing!"

Now the pain was setting in. Tears started to roll down Delia's cheeks. Her arms, half of her face, and one leg were burning terribly. Some of her hair was charred and black. The red drake tossed the garden gate open with his snout. Delia screamed. "Oh my god, it's a dragon! Ash, kill it!" Mimey limped over to her for protection. Pikachu tried to calm her down by patting her hair with its paw.

"No, mom! This is a red dragon, he's on our side!"

"Valdrostrasz," the drake said. Ash understood that this was the dragon's name, but Delia just looked at him in fear.

"Get on his back, mom. He'll carry you and Mimey to safety. I promise, he's a good guy!"

Meanwhile, Deathwing and his pursuers flew onward. "Where's Ketchum?" Thisalee asked. "I don't see him anywhere!"

"I don't know! He probably stopped to help the residents of Pallet Town," Misty said. "Just follow the black Aspect. That's what we're most worried about right now!"

Deathwing clearly didn't know what he was doing or where he was going. He now flew over open ocean, still heading south in the blind hope that it would lead him somewhere that would benefit him in some way.

Valdrostrasz landed in front of the Lab. Ash helped his mother and pokemon get off the dragon's back. "Professor! Mom needs help! Have you got anything to help with burns?"

"That dragon got her, didn't it?" Oak asked, still breathing hard and trying to calm down. "Come inside. The building must be stable if it hasn't toppled yet. I've got some burn heals. They're meant for pokemon but this is an emergency."

"I can't stay. We have to keep chasing Deathwing and get him out of Kanto before it's too late! Good luck, I hope you all are okay!" Ash ran back outside and jumped onto the drake. "Hurry, we've got to catch up with the others!"

A few minutes later, Valdrostrasz had reached top speed. "I'm flying as fast as I can, Ash. We'll catch him when we catch him."

Deathwing was being considerably slowed by the sea winds. It gave some of the smaller fliers a chance to catch up and harass him, especially the wingull, which excelled at flying over the ocean. Still, he pressed on. There was an island in the distance. Somehow that gave him a sense of progress, though he didn't know what toward. In Deathwing's insane logic, it didn't matter.

Valdrostrasz soared over the sea toward Cinnabar Island. Now they could clearly see Deathwing and Alexstrasza. The big dragons were slowed by the wind, but drakes could dance over it easily. Now he could really catch up!

As Deathwing flew over Cinnabar Island, the ground rumbled. The volcano, ever-attuned with black dragons, erupted violently, flinging lava into the air! It rained down on the island, starting fires everywhere. A glob of lava nearly hit Valdrostrasz as he struggled to catch up.

"Where have you been?" a female drake in the back asked. She was carrying the rogue.

"Had to stop to help a human. Did I miss anything?"

"Not really," Tracey said. "Oh, now he's flying toward the Orange Islands._ Wonderful._"

"How are we gonna get him back to Azeroth?" Ash asked.

"I haven't got a clue! I'm sure Alexstrasza has a plan. She has to!"


	75. The Guardians

Kai's wings and lungs felt like they were on fire. He wasn't used to flying so far at such speeds. The flight across Kanto the first time had been exhausting, and he had been able to rest and move at a more comfortable pace before. Now he was flying like a bat out of hell.

He turned his head to look at the Dragon Queen. "Your Majesty, what do you suggest we do?"

"I'm afraid we cannot defeat him alone. We must find the Guardians."

"How can we do that and keep Deathwing busy at the same time?" Gary asked. Alexstrasza was silent.

"I will distract the Aspect of Death," Calen said. He sped up. "Find the Guardians!"

"Calen, no!" Alexstrasza screamed.

"My Queen, with all due respect, we'd best go through with the plan now! Calen is risking his life for it!" Kai pointed out.

The red Aspect sighed and began to look around. "All these islands look the same… Perhaps you Kantoans can help. The Guardians are great and powerful birds…"

"Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos?" Gary asked.

"Good, you know them! Do you know where they are?"

"Follow us! Kai, we're going back to Shamouti Island."

The huge flock swerved off to follow the black drake. The birds, already agitated by the destruction and the sight of Deathwing, circled above their islands. When they saw Alexstrasza approaching, they flew toward Shamouti Island, ready to meet her. The Dragon Queen did not try to avoid human settlements. She landed with a ground-shaking thud in the middle of a paved plaza in the town. The people were cowering, understandably. The three birds and the many allies of Alexstrasza landed in the same plaza. Those riding dragons dismounted. The birds stood in an orderly line in front of the Dragon Queen. They bowed their heads, again speaking in a tongue only those with the necklaces could understand. It seemed, however, that Alexstrasza could understand them as well.

"Your Majesty," the birds greeted her.

"It has been a long time," she said. "Unfortunately, there is hardly cause for celebration. The Hour of Twilight is nearly upon us."

Moltres raised his head. "Then we are ready for war, Your Majesty. We are yours to command!"

Zapdos agreed. "By the will of the Titans who gave us strength, and with the help of the Chosen Ones, we may yet triumph."

"Have the Gems yet been activated?" Articuno asked.

"Not yet," Alexstrasza said. "I fear they are lost."

"They cannot be lost!" Moltres said, flaring up. "The Gifts of the Titans will shine their true light when the night is at its darkest; the prophecies have said so since the beginning of time! From the Dawn of Creation to the Twilight of the World!"

"We will fight for you, Your Majesty," Zapdos said. "Though none of us knows the outcome, this is our sacred duty. We already know of the Earthwarder. He has fallen into shadow. We can feel the destruction."

"But where is your master?" Alexstrasza asked.

"He sleeps at the bottom of the sea…" Articuno said.

"If the Sea-Keeper sleeps, we may not have the strength to win."

Melody knew then what she must do. She had been hiding behind a pole, watching. "The Sea-Keeper? Do you mean Lugia?"

"Melody!" Ash said. "Perfect! Can you summon Lugia again?"

"I heard on the news that the evil dragon you were talking about has gotten into our world. If we need Lugia to fight him, the least I can do is try to call the pokemon up from the sea. Let's go!" She ran to get her ocarina, then hurried to the circle of stone, followed by all the forces of Azeroth's defense in Kanto.

Melody stopped to catch her breath, then began to play.

Zapdos looked Ash in the eyes. "The prophecy was not meant to only play out once. Our forces of fire, ice, and lightning, have all been disturbed by Deathwing's attacks. Once more our master must rise to stop the forces of destruction – and none of us can do it alone. The 'Ash' in the prophecy is not just your name. It also refers to the fate of the world if the Hour of Twilight succeeds."

In the distance, Calen and Deathwing still wheeled through the sky, spitting fire.

Suddenly the sea seemed to explode as Lugia burst from the water. He hovered in front of all the heroes, taking it all in. Then he landed as Melody stopped playing. He looked up at Alexstrasza in particular.

"Life-Binder. It has been far too long since last we met."

"Sea-Keeper. I wish we could have met again under more favorable circumstances."

"Has it finally come time to fulfill our Titan-charged duties?" the great white pokemon asked.

"The Hour is not yet upon us, but fast approaches."

"Are the other Aspects prepared?"

Alexstrasza sighed. "Unfortunately, one of our own has become our most dangerous enemy. Neltharion has fallen to the whispers of the Old Ones."

Lugia looked deeply pained. "I had great respect for the Earthwarder. If we have lost Neltharion to madness, then these are dark times indeed."

"Lugia, I come here today because Neltharion, calling himself Deathwing, has returned to Kanto and the Orange Islands. He has caused great destruction and seeks to end the world. We must fight him, kill him if possible, drive him back to Azeroth if not."

"So it has come to this." Lugia stretched his limbs and shook his joints loose. "I am ready, though it pains me." The white pokemon turned to Ash and lowered his neck. "Chosen One, take your place."

"Melody, do you want to come with us?" the warrior asked.

She shook her head. "I'm not a dragonslayer. I've played my part already. Best of luck."

"Are we ready then?" the Dragon Queen asked. The heroes climbed onto their dragons.

"Won't leaving your islands upset the balance?" Misty asked, looking at the three birds.

"Any harm our absence will do is temporary, and pales in comparison to what will happen if the Hour of Twilight is allowed to go through," Articuno said.

Of course, those who couldn't understand the three birds were very confused. Nobody had time to explain; nobody had time to ask. There was only time to act.

"Lead the way, Your Majesty!" Lugia said. Alexstrasza lifted into the sky, followed quickly by the legendary pokemon and then by the rest of Deathwing's pursuers. While one powerful fighter had not been enough to stop Neltharion, perhaps five would be.


	76. The World in Which They Clash

Calen continued to harass and distract Deathwing, even as Alexstrasza and Lugia approached, followers in tow. As fierce and powerful as Lugia was, as big by human standards as he was, he was still only just under half the length of the Aspects, and most of his length was neck and tail. He wasn't all that much bigger than Calen, but he did pack a more powerful punch. The pokemon opened his mouth and let energy gather. Now Calen moved out of the way, ready to stand down for the more powerful fighters. Lugia let loose an aeroblast, powerful enough to leave a glaring dent in Deathwing's armor!

The black Aspect shook off the attack. "Not strong enough to handle me on your own, Life-Binder? You had to call on Lugia for help?" He laughed. "You fight as though you believe there is still hope!"

The white pokemon circled around Deathwing, at a greater distance than he would have normally. He was mindful of the human on his back. "Neltharion! How did this come to be? What happened to the noble Earthwarder? You were my friend, once! Have you forgotten the Titans?"

"I have surpassed the Titans!" Deathwing roared, hovering in place. He swiped at Articuno as she blasted him with ice.

"You have gone insane!" Alexstrasza shouted. Moltres dove past her horns and breathed fire at Neltharion, cracking an elementium plate.

As Lugia circled around again, pikachu had a chance to shock Deathwing. It shook and bristled with all the power it was building up, trying to give the attack everything it had. Then it fired the thunderbolt, blasting Deathwing in the face. Now the dragon moved again. He tried to dive forward at Lugia, spewing flames. The pokemon dove down toward the sea, but found himself limited by the warrior on his back. "I'm sorry. You'll have to get back on the drake. I should have thought of this. I cannot fight at my full power and keep you safe at once."

Zapdos tried to cover for Lugia while the beast of the sea went to fly wing-and-wing with a red drake. The electric bird shrieked and struck at the Earthwarder with all his might. Deathwing was circling now.

"We're right at a Nexus," Gary said. "Fly me closer, I want to hit him with a pyroblast!" Kai looked over his shoulder for a moment, then nodded and flew toward Deathwing. The mage could sense the Ley Lines around him, try to pluck the magic from them, but it was hard to do while moving, especially when the Ley Lines were as thin and sparse as in Kanto. If he focused, though, he could draw the magic to him. The ball of flames started forming in his hands. As soon as he was close enough, he threw it at Deathwing. The black Aspect's face was a hard target to hit, but there weren't so many metal plates on his head, so that's where the mage aimed. Gary's spell hit its target. Deathwing shook his head and snorted. Unfortunately, he'd caught the dragon's attention. As an act of spite and defiance, Kai looked Neltharion straight in the eyes and spat fire at him.

"My own grandson dares to turn against me?" Deathwing laughed. "Insolent whelp! I'll show you your place!" He unleashed flames at Kai.

"You're no kin of mine!" Kai snarled, diving down under the flames. "Monster!"

It took a moment for that to click. "Wait, wait, _what?_" Gary exclaimed. "_You're_ Deathwing's grandson?"

"Silence!" Kai snapped, for the first time showing outright aggression against Gary. The mage was struck speechless.

Deathwing's tail swatted a red drake, who took several moments to recover her balance and regain control. A chunk of ice forming on his wing unbalanced Deathwing and distracted him long enough for Alexstrasza to dive in and claw at him viciously. The black dragon breathed fire at Articuno, who dropped down out of the sky, barely conscious. Pidgeot dove after her and grabbed her shoulders in its claws. Misty directed her drake away from the conflict to heal the pokemon.

Ash stood up on Lugia's back as the drake and pokemon flew side by side. Then he jumped, landing on the dragon's back. Now Lugia was free to attack as he pleased. The attack the Dragon Queen landed had done its job. Deathwing began to fly away.

"No you don't…" Lugia said. He folded the spines on his back and pressed his wings tight against his body, and dropped down into the sea like an arrow. Under the sea, he began to spin quickly, adjusting for where the fleeing black dragon was going. He made a last moment correction as he burst through the surface, carrying a spinning column of water with him, straight toward Deathwing. The attack hit with such force that Deathwing was knocked a short distance upward, and gasped for air – the wind had been knocked out of him. Lugia fled quickly, narrowly escaping as the black Aspect snapped his jaws shut inches from the pokemon's tail.

Two thunderbolts hit Neltharion's flank. Brock redirected some of Articuno's elemental power to cast a frost shock. Starwisp managed to find a chink in the armor and embedded an arrow between two of Deathwing's elementium plates. The great dragon rolled in the air, and while upside down spread his wings upward to tilt his body in the sky so he could breathe fire at his attackers. They scattered to avoid the blast, some veering off as they were hit. Then he completed the roll and continued northward.

Charizard panted, flying on despite the pain in his singed wing. He braved the Aspect's tail, dodging the swinging blade and unleashing his fire on Deathwing. The Aspect was now flying over the safari zone.

James looked down. There was some kind of battle going on in the safari zone, and it was no ordinary fight. There were many people fighting, throwing punches as well as ordering their pokemon to fight. Of course he recognized them as a mix of Team Rocket and Twilight Cultists. Then the death knight saw a strange circle atop a hill, with two twilight pokemon – a dragonair and a charizard. A figure stood at the center of the circle, wearing midnight blue armor, and accompanied by two cloaked assistants. "Jessie!" The warlock looked over. He pointed, and Jessie looked down.

"Fly over there, dragon. We've got a detour to make!" Jessie said. "Go!" she insisted, when the drake opened its mouth to protest. James convinced his drake to follow. As they approached, they realized that the circle was made of evolution stones. They couldn't see the identity of the armored individual, who wore a helmet with a visor, or the hooded ones, but they could guess.


	77. Brutality and Shadows

The two red drakes landed, snarling at the twilight pokemon. The fighting all around them did not stop, nor did the cultists on the hill look away from their ritual. It seemed the twilight cultists were trying to keep the Rockets at bay.

Someone shouted. "Jessie and James are here! Let's see these Twilight's Hammer bastards win now! The Boss will have your heads for stealing his evolution stones now that our strongest fighters are here!" This caught the duo off-guard for two reasons. First, they were surprised that word of their combat prowess had spread so quickly as to inflate their reputation to the point where their names alone could rally Team Rocket and strike fear in the hearts of their enemies. Second, if the man in the armor was _not _Giovanni… who _was_ he?

Of course, the duo and their Meowth ally were not interested in simply taking part in the battle. No, they wanted to stop that ritual. Their dragons now held back the cultists who had broken away from the fight against Team Rocket to attack Jessie and James in a futile attempt to protect the ritual casters.

The two of them readied their weapons and called out their pokemon. "I don't care who these cultists are, because we're going to kill them anyway," Jessie commented, "but I really hope it's Cassidy and whats-his-face."

"Butch, isn't it?" James shook his head. "Who cares? Rip their souls out, Jessie. I'll do the same to their throats."

"Gladly."

James pointed his runeblade at the hooded cultists and prepared a spell to interrupt the ritual. A powerful blast of ice would freeze their magic in its tracks, shocking their brains away from spellcasting, and possibly even doing physical harm as well. The death knight's eyes glowed blue for a moment, as they had in undeath. Then the spell went off, knocking the two hooded cultists off their feet. "Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" For once, the words were actually quite threatening.

Jessie hesitated. On one hand, a demon would certainly help her in combat. On the other, the last thing she needed was to call the Burning Legion's attention to Kanto. A few spells here and there wouldn't cause much disruption, and magic was mostly limited to herself, Gary, the cultists themselves, and a handful of mages they might not know about. But a demon summoning? That would be asking for trouble, more trouble than Team Rocket could handle. No, Jessie could win this fight without calling on her demonic minions.

The armored man looked at the duo, then said something to the hooded ones and the two twilight pokemon. The dragons hissed and apparently continued the ritual. The cultists, however, came forward, and pulled back their hoods. It was indeed Butch and Cassidy.

"Good, I was hoping it would be you," Jessie said. She grinned. "I will enjoy this."

"Let's see how much you enjoy it when I have you lying at my feet and begging for mercy I will not give! I have a few tricks up my sleeve…" She tossed a pokeball. "Raticate! Strike to kill!"

"Arbok, deal with it! I'm going to settle a long-unbalanced score."

James simply yanked his foe into combat with a death grip. Butch was not prepared, and had to dodge the death knight's first two attacks while trying to get his own weapons ready. In an attempt to defend himself, he kicked James in the gut. It gave him the precious seconds he needed to draw his own sword and dagger.

"Primape!" Butch called his pokemon out. "Help me out here!" The ape pokemon charged at the armored fighter, but weezing slammed into it and spat sludge at it.

The red drakes struggled with cultists. One let out a terrible scream as a cultist got onto its back and stabbed it in the wing. Meowth nocked an arrow and drew it back, taking aim as well as he could at the cultist on the thrashing dragon's back. Then he let it go; the arrow hit the cultist in the head, killing him almost instantly.

"You don't understand, Jessie. I'm doing this world a favor! I'm doing us all a favor! And the Old Gods will favor _me_ for it! You'll see, if I let you live that long!" Cassidy, unexpectedly, took a shadowform. Her features faded and she became transparent like a charcoal-colored ghost, like a living, three-dimensional shadow.

"You're an idiot, Cassidy!" The warlock cast a corrupting spell at her rival-turned-foe. "The Old Gods favor no one! They give no gifts, no rewards! They will destroy us all regardless of allegiance! You are just a pawn!" She cringed as Cassidy responded with a shadowy plague that seemed to slowly devour flesh. They both cast the same curse on each other, showing how similar they really were; a curse of elemental fury that amplified certain kinds of magic – most notably fire and shadow.

Butch stepped back and raised his sword to parry a blow from James's runeblade. He took advantage of the fact that James was using a two-handed weapon; he took a cheap shot at the death knight's gut, jamming his dagger between the saronite plates. James didn't even cringe at the attack. He simply bared his teeth – as a death knight, he was used to pain and suffering. "You think that hurt, Bill?"

"Butch!" the cultist corrected, going into a rage, slamming his sword hilt into James's shoulder and tearing a gash into the armor on his chest with the dagger.

"You don't know pain, you fool!" James shouted, holding out one hand as he cast a spell. A blast of howling, icy wind knocked Butch back several steps, tearing his skin apart with tiny flecks of ice. James didn't stop there, lunging forward with a plague strike. "_Suffer!_"

Arbok held the raticate in its coils, squeezing, but the furry pokemon fought back with surprising strength. The snake pokemon was bleeding from several large wounds inflicted by the raticate's teeth, but it would not give up.

"I should have known better than to expect you to understand! Is there even anything in that head of yours? Here, let me check!" Cassidy cast a bolt of magic that nearly knocked Jessie off her feet, not from any physical impact, but from such a shock of pain. It was like having spikes driven into her skull; no, into her _mind!_

"You want to attack my mind? Then I'll attack your soul, assuming you still even have one! You didn't happen to sell it, did you?" The twilight cultist could not have prepared for the spell the warlock cast at her. Jessie's spell knocked Cassidy out of her shadowform; she nearly dropped to her knees as the warlock spun soul essence out of her like wool. "You are damned, Cassidy, even more than I am!"

Butch cringed. He could feel rot and decay coursing through his veins from the diseased strike. After a moment's rest to recover, Butch let out a berserker shout, then lunged, slicing at his opponent with both blades. James parried one blow, then another, twisting his sword to block each attack. It took everything he had, and he ended up leaning backwards, trying to hold the cultist back. Then he lost his grip on the blade. It flew up into the air, spinning. "No!" James stepped back and ducked just in time as Butch leapt forward, swinging his blades with such force that he actually went full circle before he landed.

Weezing was taking quite a beating, but the primape was getting weaker. The poison gas and toxic sludge were beginning to take their toll. The fighting pokemon was breathing hard, still trying to pummel James's pokemon into submission or death.

Cassidy's only reply to the warlock was a short word in a dark language that even Jessie did not understand, presumably Old God. Just hearing it made Jessie feel like shards of glass were being scraped against her soul. Cassidy laughed darkly at seeing her old rival in such torment.

Jessie gritted her teeth. "Can't you do any better than that? I can turn the shattered shards of your own soul against you! Welcome to hell!" She then burned the fragments of Cassidy's soul she'd ripped out, and used the power to fuel a spell called, appropriately enough, soulfire. The massive fireball burned all aspects of an enemy – mind, body, and spirit.

Cassidy gasped and clutched at her chest for a moment, as though unable to breathe. The pain was incredible, but she managed to shrug it off. "Hell, eh? That explains why you're here!" She shut her eyes and suddenly Jessie heard – and felt! – a shrill noise tear through her mind, a scream inside her head. It actually paralyzed her for a moment. This was long enough for the cultist to unload a few powerful spells. First, she blasted away at her target's mind with dark magic, then she threw a shadowbolt.

Weezing bought itself some time by disappearing into a cloud of smoke. The primape turned in circles, trying to locate its enemy. It let out a shriek as an arrow struck it in the back. It charged after Meowth, who turned and ran, occasionally stopping to fire another arrow.

Unfortunately for Butch, James was now standing right behind him. The death knight, being as pragmatic as he was, wasn't about to let the lack of a sword stop him. He threw a punch to the back of the cultist's head. He was sent sprawling on his hands and knees. James didn't stop there, and brought his boot down on Butch's back as hard as he could. "Feel your blood boil!" James said, causing exactly that to happen.

Jessie recovered from the psychic scream and retaliated with a shadowbolt of her own. Hers was larger, more powerful. It was clear that Cassidy was an inferior spellcaster compared to Jessie, though her magic still packed a punch. The warlock had been at it much longer.

Cassidy tried to assault her enemy's mind again, but this time Jessie put up a shadow ward, protecting her from dark magic. "Nice try." Jessie started to cast a chaos bolt. The cultist tried to save herself by draining Jessie's life energy, but it was too late. The chaos bolt slammed into her chest and knocked her off her feet.

Weezing grabbed James's runeblade in its mouth and tried to throw it to its master. The primape punched it just as it released the sword, causing it to miss. Instead of going to James, the blade spun right past Jessie's head.

The disruption distracted the warlock for a moment, and instead of killing her opponent like she intended, she gave Cassidy a moment to take advantage of her weakened focus. The twilight cultist tried to wrest control of the warlock's mind away from her. Jessie, of course, fought back. She couldn't focus on casting a spell while struggling so, but she could pull out her dagger. She fought, mind and body, to raise the dagger and move toward her foe. Likewise, it took all of Cassidy's strength and magical power to try to force the warlock down. The two women had locked mental horns and now it was a test of willpower.

The sword embedded itself into the ground several yards away from James. He looked at where the blade stood, then down. He had no choice. James shot a blast of ice magic into Butch before rushing off to get the weapon. The cultist got up quicker than he'd expected, though, and stabbed him in the back with the dagger. Butch also tried to run him through with the sword, but it wouldn't slip into the death knight's armor.

James stumbled forward, then turned. Now that he had his runeblade back, he could do some real damage. He activated all of his runes, then struck at Butch; his blade sank all the way into the bone. The cultist's left arm was rendered useless and the dagger dropped to the floor. He tried to retaliate, swinging his sword at James's face, but the death knight parried the blow. His sword became coated in ice as he slashed at the man's other arm, but Butch was able to mostly dodge the attack, only being nicked. For once, he was truly _afraid_ of James.

Raticate broke free of the arbok's coils. It launched itself at the snake's head. Arbok dizzily tried to regain focus. Part of its hood was torn open as the rat clamped down with its teeth. The snake pokemon shook it off and lunged, poison fangs at the ready.

Cassidy's spell broke as the more experienced spellcaster triumphed, and Jessie lunged with the knife. Cassidy cast a shadowflame in an attempt to defend herself. The twilight fire licked over Jessie, searing her flesh and soul alike. The warlock's dagger missed by mere inches as Cassidy dodged the attack and grappled with her foe. She couldn't reach for her own dagger, using both hands to hold her enemy back. "Raticate! Get her off me!"

"Don't let it escape, arbok!" Jessie shouted, not once looking away from her foe. The tip of the blade hovered inches away from Cassidy's throat. The cultist's eyes narrowed and she resorted to another mental shriek. While Jessie was stunned, she whipped out her own blade. Jessie backed away.

"Your lifeblood is mine!" the death knight snarled, slicing into Butch's side. The cultist's blood trickled up the blade and sank into the runes, which began to glow red as they restored some of James's strength.

The two women circled each other, daggers ready. Cassidy's weapon had clearly seen use, brown at the edges with blood and rust. Some of it was almost certainly her own – twilight rituals often required the blood of the casters. Even Jessie normally avoided such spells.

Another arrow pierced the primape's skin. It stopped to try to regain its strength. Meowth aimed another arrow, right at the heart, but then lowered it. He couldn't bring himself to kill the primape, who was only doing as its master ordered. It wasn't the pokemon's fault it had to serve the Twilight's Hammer. This wasn't like Icecrown, where the pokemon were mindless slaves to the Scourge. This was just a primape like any other. What right did Meowth have to end its life?

Steel clashed against saronite as the two fighters went at each other. James tried to land a blood strike on his opponent, while Butch swung his sword wildly with his good arm. Often the two parried each other rather than missing or striking. Though James had been at it longer and had magic to use, Butch was driven by the madness and malice so common to twilight cultists. He tried to cut into James's leg, but the death knight sidestepped the attack and launched a death coil into his enemy's head.

Meowth drew the bowstring back again, and fired. This time he'd aimed at the primape's feet. "Go on! Get out of here!" He fired another arrow. "Run away! You don't have to listen to the crazy cultists!" The primape leapt and dodged as more arrows barely missed its feet. The cat pokemon continued trying to drive it away, but it kept looking back at Butch.

Suddenly Jessie cast searing pain on her opponent. She didn't stop there, and, burning another soul fragment, cast another powerful fireball at Cassidy. The cultist clutched at her chest and tried not to let her knees give out underneath her. She started casting a mind blast, but Jessie was quicker, sealing Cassidy's fate with an immolate spell. "I'll see you in the world of the damned, Cassidy." The warlock grinned as she kicked the fallen woman. She slit the cultist's throat with the dagger, just to be sure she was taken care of for good. It had felt wonderful to kill Cassidy, especially with her allegiance to the Old Gods removing any morals from the equation.

Raticate saw its master go down and decided that the wisest thing to do would be to ditch the battlefield entirely. It may have belonged to a cultist, and it had been loyal to her, but it had no intention of giving up its life for the Twilight's Hammer without Cassidy there to tell it to. It ran away as fast as it could.

Letting out another battle cry, Butch swung his blade at James one more time, trying to avenge his fallen companion, but instead of parrying or taking the hit, James ducked under it, grabbed his opponent's wrist, and swung him around, throwing him against a stone in the field. Before the cultist could get up, James drove his runeblade through the man's back and into his heart.

One more arrow from Meowth convinced the primape to hightail it before the cultists could put it through another traumatic ritual. Now that its master was gone, it had no reason to stick around.

Jessie and James celebrated the victory with a shout. Moments later, though, the realization dawned on them. They'd just killed fellow members of Team Rocket. They'd killed so many people and creatures before, but never their own teammates. They quickly shook off the guilt. Butch and Cassidy had gone too far by throwing their lot in with the Twilight's Hammer. They were too far gone for any solution but death.

Now they could turn their attention to the armored man and his twilight pokemon. Who was he? "James, you attack the charizard. Meowth, try to keep the dragonair busy. I'll figure out what to do about the armored guy," Jessie said.

The two shadowy pokemon seemed to be in a trance. Flames lit the battlefield as one of the red drakes burned down twilight cultists. James cast a hungering cold spell on the charizard. Under normal circumstances, ice was weak to fire. Hungering cold was the exception. It was so cold that it could leech heat away without the frost involved rising above its melting point. Supernatural ice crystals hung all over the fire pokemon's face, wings, and shoulders, so cold that they seemed to burn. It roared and tried to shake them off. The death knight charged, runeblade held high. The blue and black charizard roared, its soulless, featureless cyan eyes staring into his. James swung his sword, but the pokemon caught the blade between its teeth. The knight and the dragon struggled against each other.

Meowth shot an arrow at the midnight-colored dragonair. The slender dragon was a tough target to hit, especially swaying as it was in the trance. The projectile caught in a small loop of scaly skin, having grazed the pokemon's neck. This was enough to break the trance.

The armored man turned, his ritual not yet complete. Jessie knew the look of that armor – decorated elementium and dragonscales. A fin-like crest atop the head, a hammer emblem on the belt, a dragonskin cloak. Boots fashioned to look like claws. No, it wasn't exactly like the ones she'd seen before – this time there was a helmet and chestplate, but it was still clear what it was meant to be. This man was trying to become and elemental ascendant. It was a good thing they'd been able to interrupt the ritual.

James pulled his sword free of the charizard's grip. He raised an anti-magic shield against the incoming twilight fire just in time. He swung his sword at the corrupted pokemon as it paused for breath, ripping a gash open across its face.

One of the drakes was now free to attack the dragonair. The red dragon swooped in and grabbed the pokemon in its claws. Now Meowth was free to redirect his attacks to the charizard.

Jessie cast a chaos bolt at the man in armor. He cringed. "Charizard!" he shouted. Yes, that voice was familiar! The twilight pokemon knocked James aside with its head and went to its master. The would-be ascendant climbed onto its back. "Retreat!"

"No you don't!" James yelled, as the creature took flight. He yanked it back with a death grip. Meowth carefully aimed an arcane-imbued shot and let it go. The helmet was knocked right off the armored man's head.

"Giovanni, you traitor!" Jessie shrieked. She threw a shadowbolt and James cast a frost spell, but the twilight charizard was already taking to the sky. At this point, the twilight cultists were also fleeing. The ritual was broken and there was no point staying to fight. The Rockets that had been fighting them were utterly shocked. The armored man was their boss? It had all been an elaborate ruse! He'd been one of the cultists all along; they'd never stolen anything from him! Furious at his betrayal, the Rockets with flying pokemon immediately took to the sky in pursuit of their former leader and his shadow pokemon.

The two drakes urged Jessie and James to let the chase go. "They'll hunt him down. We must return to the fight against Deathwing! We've already wasted far too much time here! Hurry!"


	78. Wings of Fate

One of the drakes closed his eyes, trying to pick up on energy currents in the world, to locate the mountain portal or the dragon Aspects. "This way!"

"I can smell seawater," the other drake said, following him.

"That's Viridian Bay" Jessie told her.

"Excellent. We can use the sea-winds to speed our flight."

"Hold on!" James's drake said, as the two approached the bay. Suddenly, both drakes dropped down, plunging over the small cliff at the edge of the bay. They opened their wings at the last minute and soared at high speed just above the waves.

XXX

Lugia's aeroblast missed its target, toppling a chunk of a building in Celadon City. Alexstrasza opened her mouth and breathed flames. Articuno blasted a spike off of Deathwing's armor with an ice beam.

Gary felt dizzy. Trying to cast spells while moving so quickly was giving him a headache. He was moving in and out of Ley Line hotspots, so spells would surge and wane in strength even as he was in the process of casting them. He shook his head and took a deep breath. He felt the magic surge and threw a frost lance. The spell pierced Neltharion's wing membrane. The young mage grinned.

By this point, of course, news was spreading across Kanto like wildfire. People hid in the safest places they could find, or failing that, watched the television news stations. Some brave individuals captured recordings of Deathwing and his pursuers on video and sent them to the news stations.

Suddenly the black Aspect veered off the path the heroes were so carefully herding him along. "No!" Ash shouted.

"Follow him!" Alexstrasza shouted. "We'll force him back!"

"Oh, damn!" Brock said, "he's flying right for Pewter City!"

"Fly me closer!" Starwisp told her dragon. Biting her lip, she aimed a shot at Deathwing's hip. If she could hit him at the weak, unarmored skin of the joint, she may even be able to crack his pelvis. The night elf narrowed her eyes and tried to ignore her hair, which was whipping around madly, stinging her face.

Much to her surprise, another arrow hit first! "Did we miss anything?" Jessie called out, as Meowth nocked another arrow.

"Hey, what happened?" Kai asked.

"Oh, we just had to split Team Rocket in half and stop Giovanni from becoming an elemental ascendant," James said. "Oh, and kill Cassidy and Butch for their betrayal. No big deal." He grinned darkly.

Deathwing was flying directly at Pewter City. He let the flames well up inside him, ready to burn the city down. A hyper beam suddenly struck him in the face. He looked up.

Lance had arrived, riding on his dragonite's back. Surprisingly, he had a clearly blood elven blade in his hand. Deathwing actually stopped for a moment in mild confusion. Where had this man come from? "Dragonite, now, dragon claw!" Dragonite shrieked and dove straight down at Neltharion, and Lance similarly let out a battle cry. Deathwing tried to bite the dragon pokemon, but she was too quick. She veered to the side, narrowly avoiding the giant maw, clawing the side of Deathwing's face with her hind leg as she went. Lance swung the sin'dorei blade as hard as he could and cut a gash across Deathwing's snout, just in front of his eye.

"You will pay, vermin!" Deathwing roared.

Lance leaned forward, lowering his body close to the dragonite's scaly back. "Now," he told her. She dove straight down, and Deathwing blasted fire in her direction. "Spin!" the Champion commanded; the dragonite rolled out of the way like an airplane in a dogfight.

"Starwisp, keep attacking," the drake reminded her. The elf had been too busy swooning to continue fighting.

"Oh, right. Yes, of course." She nocked another arrow.

Lance had not only done damage; his sudden appearance had distracted Deathwing long enough for Alexstrasza to land a powerful attack. The Dragon Queen roared and spread her wings upward to bring her body forward. She slammed into Deathwing with all four claws. They both spun downward, knocked off-course by the impact. The two mighty dragons steadied themselves and soared up into the fray once more. This time, Deathwing did fly toward Mt. Moon.

Pidgeot used aerial ace, loosening a piece of elementium armor. Now they were making progress! Thisalee managed to latch onto Deathwing's horn and repeatedly hammer at his forehead with her beak, picking rivets out in the hopes of making his armor fall off. Pidge turned into a fireball and slammed into Deathwing's back like a meteor.

Brock couldn't use his favored element at this altitude, but he could rely on the air around him. He was always with the elements! He focused the energy in the clouds into a thunderbolt. Zapdos and pikachu followed his example.

"There!" Jessie shouted. "There's the portal! I can see it!"

"Leave this world and never return!" Lugia told Deathwing, firing another aeroblast. A piece of elementium came loose from his leg. Tracey carefully aimed a crossbow bolt, and fired. The bolt ripped the armor the rest of the way off.

"Dragonite! Another hyper beam!" Lance ordered. The dragon pokemon obeyed her master, searing Neltharion's flank with another powerful attack. Charizard joined in, unleashing a flamethrower at the black Aspect.

Now Deathwing was fleeing. His armor was coming apart. These fighters were doing actual damage to him; that shouldn't happen! He was supposed to be invulnerable! He needed to retreat and recover; have his armor replaced. He had to get back to Azeroth, where his cult could serve his needs. The portal, he had to get to the portal.

Moltres unleashed a jet of fire at Neltharion. Misty's Wingull followed up with a torrent of water. Alexstrasza breathed more of her life-fire.

Deathwing dove through the portal at Mt. Moon. Alexstrasza stopped. "That should keep him busy for a while. Now we can strike at the rest of his forces before he recovers."

"Good idea, Your Majesty," Lugia said. The red Aspect landed on the mountain, and the others joined her.

"Your Majesty?" Lance asked under his breath, looking to Quel'Delar's Chosen to fill him in.

"This is Alexstrasza, the Queen of all dragons," Misty said. Lance looked very surprised and immediately bowed to the red dragon.

"It's an honor."

Alexstrasza smiled, revealing many sharp teeth. "You certainly did help a great deal, little one. As did you, Lugia, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres. And as always, Quel'Delar's Chosen have proven their strength. You may yet win this war for us."

"We _will,_" Gary said.

"We must return to Shamouti before the Ley Lines become unbalanced," Lugia said.

"Thank you for your assistance, Sea-Keeper," Alexstrasza said.

"Farewell, Lifebinder. May we meet again." The four birds took flight.

"Quel'Delar's Chosen," the red dragon said. "We have much to do and little time to do it. We must prepare for our final confrontation with Neltharion. Prepare yourselves for war."

"Thank you so much for your help, Lance!" Starwisp said. The elite trainer just nodded.

"I have to help Kanto recover from this mess. It's my duty as Champion. And it's your duty to help Azeroth. I'm glad I got to take part in this battle."

"You may yet serve us again, Lance," Alexstrasza said. "We shall see."

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I would be honored."

"One question before we go, Lance," Gary said. "Where did you get that sword? It's clearly of blood elven craftsmanship. High quality, even for them."

"Is it? I'm not surprised. It's magical, apparently. I got it from a young magus named Marina in exchange for an autograph. It's served me quite well." He grinned.

"Go figure," Starwisp said.

"Little ones, recall your pokemon companions, and come with me," Alexstrasza said. "We will close this portal from the other side and prevent the Twilight's Hammer from opening another in its place. My drakes will assault Grim Batol, but I have other tasks for you, champions."

"Farewell, and good luck," Lance said, bowing to the Dragon Queen again.


	79. Enough is Enough

The drakes flew Quel'Delar's Chosen away from the portal over Grim Batol, while Alexstrasza stayed behind to shut it.

"Where are we going?" Thisalee asked, flying alongside Ash's drake. "To kill stuff I hope?"

"Yeah, I hope so too," the warrior said with a grin. "Fighting things with you is always fun."

"Same to you, Ketchum."

"We're going to the Obsidian Forest," the drake said. "It used to be a sacred place to red dragons, but it has been corrupted and petrified. We were going to go there earlier, but of course our trip to Kanto somewhat threw off our plans."

"But it was _awesome_," the druid said.

Ash frowned. "Thisalee… That was my home. That's my world. And Deathwing ripped it apart."

"Oh," she replied quietly, "right. Sorry. I didn't think of that. I guess that would make it a lot less awesome for you."

"I mean, I know your world has been torn up too, but…"

"Yeah. I understand."

"I figured you would." Ash smiled a bit. If birds could grin, Thisalee would have done so. She always enjoyed being in Ash's presence.

The dragons landed. Lirastrasza, in her elf form, and Baleflame were waiting with a small force of drakes just outside the Obsidian Forest: once a grove of tall trees, now encased in black stone and stripped of their branches. The water in the shallow pond had been contaminated with high amounts of mercury, probably due to a connection to Deepholm, and shone silvery and toxic.

"Good. You're here. I'm surprised you've lasted this long. You've turned out to be capable allies, despite what I initially thought," Lira greeted Quel'Delar's Chosen. "No point in chatter; let's put you to work."

"I want to kill things," Thisalee said, returning to her night elf form. "Do you have things for me to kill?"

Lirastrasza held up a vicious object resembling a giant fishhook on a chain. It had some kind of mechanized crank at the other end of the chain. "The Twilight Drakehunters used vicious implements to drag our circling drakes from the sky. Hooks that buried into their scales and held the Twilight secure while they brought our kin to the ground. We dealt with the cultists, but we still have the black dragons to worry about. We are past the point of peace. Past hope for their redemption." She glanced at Kai. "Present company excluded. The only mercy we have left to offer the blackflight is the oblivion that they so passionately pursue. I want you to use the hooks on the black drakes in the sky. Any of you who don't want to kill the drakes, take on their dragonspawn followers."

"How many of those hooks do you have?" James asked.

"Only three. I'd suggest your non-ranged fighters take them."

"Misty, you and I can both be considered medium-range fighters. We have two short-range fighters – Ash and Tracey – so that leaves only one of us to take the third," the death knight said.

"Right. I'm okay with either role."

"I'd prefer to stay on the ground. I've had enough flight for now."

"Then I'll take the third chain," the paladin said.

"Let's go, then!" Ash said, taking one of the chains.

"Crow's really rubbing off on you, isn't she?" Gary teased.

The whole group went into the black stone forest. Above them, red and black drakes circled.

"We shouldn't stay here long," Brock said. "We could get mercury poisoning from all the toxic vapor."

"Well if we kill these dragons fast," Gary said, "we won't have to stay here long." Fireballs appeared in his hands as he started casting.

Ash pulled the chain out of the crankbox. "I guess you throw it like a lasso…" He spun the hook around, waiting for a dragon to fly into range. When one showed up, he threw it; the hook caught deep into the drake's shoulder. The warrior pressed the button on the box and the gizmo whirred to life, yanking him off the ground as the chain wrapped around a bar inside the box. It pulled him up to the dragon. Ash had to avoid the kicking claws and beating wings, but he was able to pull himself up onto the dragon's back. He stood up, holding onto the box's handle with one hand. He drew his sword with the other. Then he stopped, trying to figure out how to kill the dragon without falling to his death.

The rogue, of course, had already figured it out. That was just how his mind worked. He stayed low, holding onto the dragon's back with his knees while he pulled the hook out of the drake's side. He carefully unwound the chain while trying to not fall off his unwilling mount. "Alright…" Tracey muttered. He pulled out a dagger and dipped the tip of the blade into a vial of poison. The he reached around the dragon's shoulder to embed the knife in its chest, near the heart. It thrashed wildly, but he was able to hang on. He put the dagger back and began to swing the chain around again, targeting another drake. He moved to his new target, and a minute later the drake he'd stabbed dropped out of the sky as the toxin took its toll. The poison itself wouldn't kill the dragon, but it caused some degree of paralysis, which would be fatal to a creature flying at that height. The impact with the stony floor below would kill it.

Ash watched this, and realized he would need to bleed the dragon out. Cut a vital artery, then leave. That would do the trick. Misty didn't need to bother with that sort of tactic. She could just kill the dragon outright and jump off, letting the Light protect her, which is exactly what she did. She would need to wait a moment before returning to the sky, but it worked.

The black dragonspawn on the ground used fire magic in a desperate bid to protect themselves. Gary, of course, was very well-acquainted with the weaknesses of fire, and knew how to take minimal damage from it. He was also a master of using it to his own advantage. The dragons' weak magic paled in comparison to the mage's magnificent pyroblasts and flamestrikes.

Jessie and James did not hold back here any more than they had in Kanto. They had sharpened their abilities and become quite formidable on the battlefield. If anything, their fight with Butch and Cassidy had honed their skills further than anything else before. They had unlocked their true potential.

Starwisp climbed one of the stone trees, darting up as though she did it for fun every day. Then she took aim with an arrow, crouching on the stub of a branch. She shot a dragon dead in the face, and it tumbled out of the sky, never aware of what had hit it.

Absol ran at top speed across the stone ground. The land was smooth and shiny, perfect for the clawed pokemon to run on. With such speed, it could easily pounce on the dragonspawn and knock them over. Once it had them pinned, it could tear their throats out.

Vaporeon simply crouched on a rock, waiting for dragons to fly overhead, then knocking them into a deadly spin by blasting one wing with a hydro pump.

Brock was at his strongest, able to use the stone around him to his advantage. His earth magic was very powerful in the Obsidian Forest, and his onix felt perfectly at home, crushing the tiny dragonspawn with its tail and jaws.

Thisalee circled in bird form, plunging like a hawk diving for a mouse whenever a dragon flew toward her. She was not above clawing their eyes out, but landed the killing blow in her elf form, slitting the scaly throats with her dagger. She was grinning the whole time. "Gotcha!" As the dragon plummeted, she took her bird form again and flew away.

The dragons that didn't bleed out from Ash's attacks soon met an electric end as pikachu shocked their weakened forms out of the sky.

Within the hour, the Obsidian Forest was completely purged of black flight influence.

"Well done!" Lira praised the heroes. "Now, a bigger task. In the southwestern portion of the Obsidian Forest, you will find some of the black egg clutches. Many of the eggs can be hatched a touch early with a bit of prodding from the right sort of flame, and as the whelplings hatch, they will cry out and flock for their mother." Kai looked quite upset. "Do not worry, if this purging is to be taken to the whelps, that is not a task that I will force on you. I simply want you to let them out and follow them home as they seek their mother. It is she who we must confront. The whelps may not yet be beyond redemption, but she is."

"Alright," Kai said, rather reluctant. Suddenly a pidgeon fluttered down with a message attached to its leg. It landed right in front of Tracey. The rogue took the message off and unfurled it. He frowned, then shooed the bird away. He put the message in his pocket. He would deal with it after this dragon.

The heroes went back into the Obsidian Forest, with Baleflame in tow. The red dragonspawn was a noble companion, quiet and brave. Kai led the way, and when he found the eggs he breathed fire on them. Sure enough, they hatched. Their wings were bigger than Tori's were on hatching, but not quite enough to carry them. They seemed to instinctively know where to go, running on all fours half the time and fluttering awkwardly the rest. The adventurers followed the newborn dragons to a well-hidden cave.

"So this is her lair," Baleflame said. "Obsidia is one of the last mature dragons that can continue the black dragonflight's corrupted bloodline, if not _the_ last. She must be killed. I'd like to thank you for being our fangs in this battle. You've proven to be capable allies."

The heroes went deeper into the cave. "Yeah, we're gonna get mercury poisoning, no matter what we do," Gary said. There were ponds of mercury in the dragon cave, an enclosed area. They were probably breathing all sorts of toxic vapors.

"It stinks of rot here," Baleflame commented. Soon they found out why. There were dragon corpses strewn about, stripped to the bone or very near to it. Whelps chewed the remains of the flesh.

"No wonder they're all mad," Kai muttered. "Between the mercury and the cannibalism… I'm so glad I wasn't raised like this."

Then, they rounded a corner, and there she was. Obsidia, the black terror. Kai's eyes widened. He _knew_ her. She had come to Outland. She'd been far less stable than Sabellian, Kai's father, so he'd eventually driven her away from Blade's Edge. And, as Sabellian refused to talk about his mate, she was also one of only a handful of potential candidates for being Kai's mother.


	80. The End of an Age

"Tender little humanoids! Your flesh will make a fine meal for my whelps!"

"You'll have to go through us first!" Baleflame said, stepping forward and raising his shield. Kai stepped out with him.

"You traitorous little drake! None can so easily turn their backs on Neltharion!" Obsidia growled.

Thisalee threw a rock at the dragon's face. The black dragoness roared in anger and tried to bring her claw down on the little druid, but she turned into a bird and flew out of the way.

"Onix, hold her back!" Brock commanded, letting his pokemon join the fray. Once again, it proved quite effective at matching a fully grown dragon's strength.

"Come, my children! Feast on their flesh!" Obsidia shouted.

"Misty, James, and Baleflame, you're on the right side with me!" Gary instructed. "Ash, Thisalee, Brock, Jessie, take the left side. Starwisp, Tracey, and Meowth, you guys are on whelp duty; keep them off us while we take down the dragon!"

"What?" Kai yelped. "I thought we weren't going to kill the whelps!"

"We may not have a choice!" As if on cue, black whelps – not newborns, they were older than Tori – flew in and tried to swarm the group. Starwisp shot three down at once, firing multiple arrows.

"You'll not harm my whelps!" Obsidia roared. With a sudden surge of strength, she pushed onix over. It landed with a resonating thud mere inches away from Kai. The dragoness swiped the night elf with her claw, tossing her into the skeleton of another dragon.

"Well you won't hurt my friends!" Kai yelled. He leapt up, wings flared, and half flew, half threw himself at Obsidia's neck. He dug his claws in and bit down as hard as he could. Obsidia stomped and shook and tried to get him off, but he held tight. Onix was now able to attack again, ramming its horn into the dragon's shoulder.

"You okay, Starwisp?" Ash shouted.

"I could use some healing." The hunter stood up slowly. The paladin checked to make sure nobody else was in more urgent need, then focused her attention on the night elf.

Absol took a running jump and landed on the dragoness's hind leg. He clawed his way up onto her flank and began tearing at it like a wolf trying to take down a stag. The sight of blood and violence called scyther's attention. The bug pokemon fluttered up onto the dragon's back and began hacking at her wings.

Obsidia managed to tear Kai away from her neck with a claw. He yelped as he felt his flank tearing open. His head smacked into the stone floor and his vision went dark and blurry.

"Hang in there!" Brock said, throwing a healing spell at the drake before turning back to the attack. He cast earth shock, then imbued his weapon with the striking power of stone. He charged forward and brought the warhammer into the dragoness's foreleg. She nearly collapsed. The shaman retreated to avoid being attacked in retaliation.

Starwisp and Aeroth struggled to keep the swarms of whelps at bay on their side – Obsidia had _many_ children. The rogue was having even more trouble, with no pet to aid him. "Guys, I might need a little bit of help over here."

A circle of flame suddenly exploded around Tracey, startling him and burning down the dragon whelps. "You're welcome," Gary said, already starting to cast a pyroblast.

Baleflame hacked at Obsidia's leg with his axe. James decided to move to the other side where he had more room to work with, but was hit by the swinging tail. It knocked him several yards.

Jessie summoned in Brylith to help her. The demon's whip, imbued with shadow energy, cut through dragonscale like butter, marking Obsidia's side with thin, bloody lines. The warlock added her own shadow magic to the mix.

Obsidia struggled against the giant rock pokemon, shoving it with her shoulder. The warrior tried to attack her from the side but she snapped him up in her jaws. His armor creaked as she started to bite down slowly, drawing out the pain and suffering as her teeth sank in. This was a grave mistake.

Thisalee let out a berserker scream as she shifted out of bird form right above the dragon's head. She pulled out her dagger and brought it down as hard as she could right between the wyrm's eyes. The dragon did not die as she expected it to. Thisalee's dagger was not long enough to reach the absolutely vital sections of the brain and cause an instantaneous death – while the wound would be fatal from blood loss and swelling, for the moment it had only crippled the dragon. Crippling was, of course, enough to get her to release Ash. The dragon was frothing at the mouth now, a crazy gleam in her eye from the damage to her brain. Thisalee didn't care. She dove down in bird form, then dragged the wounded warrior aside to heal him to the best of her abilities. She wasn't a healer; she had very little mana and weak healing spells, but she could save his life.

Obsidia fell over, in her death throes. She clawed madly at empty space and thrashed her tail. The paladin was caught under the dragon's flank but she managed to pull herself out and, with Gary's help, limped far enough away that she could heal herself without worrying about the flailing wings. The dragon's struggles slowed and stopped as the life slipped away from her body.

Jessie started cheering, celebrating their victory over the massive dragoness. The others began to join in, but Kai snapped.

"No! Don't celebrate!" He growled. "This is _sad!_ A whole era dies with her! This is a tragedy!"

Starwisp frowned and went over to the drake. "Kai…" She cradled his scaly head in her arms. "I understand." He shut his eyes tightly and just stayed there. "But it was necessary." She stroked the scaly snout. "Perhaps the blackflight will be restored in time, as the whelps grow. Not all of them were killed, and the young ones may yet be redeemed." Kai just pressed his head against Starwisp's chest and shoulder. Nobody else said a word.


	81. Sorrow

"She might have been my mother," Kai whispered.

There was a pause. "What?" Starwisp asked, surprised.

"I don't know who my mother is, but there are only a handful of females of the right age who were in the right place to have laid my egg. Obsidia was one of them."

Ash tried to imagine having to fight against his own mother, to the death, and watch her be stabbed between the eyes to die slowly and painfully. He shuddered and shook his head violently to clear the horrible image. He felt sick to his stomach. Poor Kai!

Starwisp continued cradling the drake's head against her chest. "She was no kin of yours, Kai. What does blood matter? It's what's in the heart that counts. If you never even knew your mother, what difference does it make whether she was this dragoness or some other? All were mad, all were slain. You have no ties to them, any more than you do to Deathwing." Kai's eyes snapped open. "It's only one generation's difference. You show no fondness for him or for your grandmother, Sintharia. Why should your equally insane mother be any different? You don't have to be like her. It's better that you didn't know her."

"It hurts…" the drake whispered.

"I know. All the killing must hurt. Fighting your own kind. We've all been through it, though perhaps not to the same degree as you have. We have not fought our families, but we have all fought our own kind, to some extent. We understand, Kai. We really do." She started singing very quietly in Darnassian. She didn't have the best singing voice, but anything to comfort the dragon would do. The rest of the adventurers just stood by in awkward silence.

Eventually, Kai recovered. "Alright. I… I think I'm going to be okay now."

"You sure?" Starwisp asked, finally letting him pull away, but not taking her hands off his snout.

"Yeah. What now?"

"I'll inform the red dragons of your victory," Baleflame said. "We have no other tasks for you. Thank you, Quel'Delar's Chosen."

"Then I guess we're off to Stormwind to make our final preparations," Gary said.

"Correction," Tracey said, "_you're_ off to Stormwind. _I_ have received an important message from SI:7 headquarters. I guess this is goodbye; I'll probably be busy for a while yet, and if you're off to fight Deathwing…"

"That's okay," Misty told him. "We can wait a little while to attack the black Aspect. We'll go with you."

"No," he said, shaking his head. The rogue folded his arms over his chest. "I have to go alone."

"Why? Where are you going, and why can't we come?" The paladin sounded more concerned than angry.

Tracey opened his mouth to speak, stopped, and just frowned. He sighed. "That's… classified. It's so secret that they didn't even give me many details. All I can tell you is that I've been told to go alone, and that stealth will be extremely important, so I couldn't have you and Ash clanking around in your armor anyway, even if I was allowed to bring companions on this assignment_._ I'm not going to argue with you about this; nor am I willing to quarrel with SI:7 officials. I wish I could tell you more, but I can't."

Misty frowned. "I understand. Just… try not to die without me there to heal you, okay? I worry, letting you nonhealers out of my sight."

"That's generally what I do anyway," the rogue replied, with a grin. "It's not like I stand in fires when left to my own devices or anything." He looked off into the distance as they walked out of the cave. "I just wonder how I'm going to get where I need to go on time."

"I know your destination is classified," Gary said, "but can you tell me what the closest city is? I can portal you there and you can ride to your destination from there. Um… You can even borrow my horse."

Tracey was very surprised by this generosity. "Uh…"

"It's the least I can do to make up for my earlier hostility."

"Um… Thanks, Gary. We're actually closer now than the closest city you could make a portal to. I'll go from here."

"Alright then. I'll just show you how to summon that horse."

XXX

The rogue looked at his maps. It would be a very long ride – he was glad he had the horse. As he prepared to set out, he looked at the sky. The sun was low. "Best get moving," he said to himself.

XXX

As often was the case, Quel'Delar's Chosen dispersed and all did their own things when they arrived in Stormwind. Each had battle trophies to sell and things to buy. Ash went to get his blades sharpened again, Starwisp sought out a fletcher, Gary had to buy more portal runes, Brock decided it would be wise to stock up on potions, and so on. It kept them all busy til the sun was on the horizon.

They all met again in front of the Gilded Rose, the inn of the city. "Alright, I say let's call it a night. Tomorrow we'll plan ou-" Gary was suddenly interrupted by a high elf in bronze robes teleporting right into the center of the group.

"Good, I knew you'd be here at this time," the elf said. It was fairly clear by her outfit and words that she wasn't actually an elf. "Oh, sorry. I should at least introduce myself. I am Coridormi of the bronze dragonflight. I bring an important message for you. Nozdormu the Timeless One has asked for the help of mortal champions. You are at the top of his short list. It is uncharacteristic of my master to request aid from your kind, but all things change in time… including the Aspect of Time. He awaits you at the Caverns of Time in Tanaris."

"I'd ask if this was urgent but I have a feeling that the _Timeless_ One can wait," Gary said. "We're tired. Can we go tomorrow?"

Coridormi thought for a moment. "That will do."

XXX

As the moon rose, the rogue took his worgen form. He was used to the pain of shifting by now. He had no need for the horse at this point, and sent it back away to wherever mounts went when not summoned. He was getting a bit tired, but he didn't have to rise and rest with the cycle of the sun. He could keep going for a little while into the moonlit hours. Besides, Tracey wanted to get out of the wetlands and into the arathi highlands. The worgen loped along the swamp road on all fours. He couldn't be far from the dryer air of the highlands. Sure enough, he eventually came to the twin bridges. One of them was collapsed, but the other, a testament to dwarven architectural durability, stood strong.

Tracey stopped a short distance into the highlands. It was a very beautiful place, with rolling hills and a few majestic trees and stone ruins scattered about. As he settled down for the night under one of the trees, he realized that it would be his first night as a sane worgen spent entirely alone. Before, he'd always had Mollie Gee and the rest of the pack or Quel'Delar's Chosen. Now he was completely on his own. He lowered his ears into his mane. It was a strange feeling, being all alone, trapped in a body he still didn't quite trust.


	82. Now IS the Time to Use That!

Coridormi teleported Quel'Delar's Chosen to the Caverns of Time early in the morning. They emerged in a strange tunnel, filled with sand. All around them, various buildings and other artifacts stuck out of the walls at odd angles. Human inns, highborne temples, orcish tents, night elf sailing ships, all lost in time. Tombstones with shifting names and dates, both past and present, unreadable, poked out of the sand randomly. The tunnel had a natural window along the side at one point, but it didn't show the sandy desert of Tanaris, nor the depths of the sea. Instead, it showed a vast expanse of stars, clouded with burgundy space-dust. Strange planets floated among asteroid belts that seemed to be orbiting around the stone tunnel. The Twisting Nether was visible here and there.

"Where are we?" Misty asked.

"We are everywhere and nowhere," the bronze dragoness replied cryptically, still leading in her elven form. Finally, the heroes emerged from the tunnel into a large chamber. This chamber was open at the top, staring into the same space as the window. Around the edge were various tunnels with strange decorations – bits and pieces of landscapes from across time. Dragons flew around the chamber, appearing and disappearing as they busily wove between portals through time. In the center of the chamber was a stone platform with a giant hourglass, crafted of bronze. This hourglass was extremely intricate, holding chambers within chambers and sand that fell up as well as down, depending on where in the glass it was. Presumably it meant something to the dragons even though it seemed nonsensical and pointless to the human mind. Even Starwisp couldn't make heads or tails of what she was seeing.

Just in front of the hourglass, Nozdormu himself waited. The huge, muscular bronze dragon lifted himself and slowly shook out his joints. He didn't seem to be in the least bit of a hurry. "Welcome to the Caverns of Time," he said. "Are you confused by what you see?" Quel'Delar's Chosen nodded, some more confused than others. "That does not surprise me. Why don't you take a look around? Learn a bit about what it is we do here and why."

"Uh, didn't you call us here for a reason?" Gary asked. He'd assumed such a message would be urgent.

"I will get to that, in time. We have plenty of it."

A draenei woman – actually a dragon, of course – stepped forward. She had pale blue skin and a silvery robe, and seemed quite otherworldly, even for a draenei. "Come with me, please. I'll be your guide." Quel'Delar's Chosen had no choice but to follow her. Brock was quite happy to, but tried to pay more attention to her words than her swaying hips and fascinating tail. "We aren't sure if these caverns have always been accessible to mortals," the guide said. "The Timeless One often keeps information to himself, and changes the Caverns as he sees fit. They are fluid. What you see here today may not exist tomorrow. In fact, it's possible you'll exit the cave yesterday, with no memories of what happened here."

"I hope not…" Ash muttered. That was actually kind of scary.

"It is strange, I know. Most mortals cannot even comprehend what they see here, as it isn't fitted to their version of reality. Some take to it more readily than others. Your mage, for instance. His reality is very different than the reality of your warrior. As a magic user, he's used to things shifting in ways they cannot, cause and effect not always being tied in a single ribbon of events. His world is fluid and malleable. He is comfortable with the shifting nature of the Caverns. Your warrior, though, is quite different. To him the world is a solid thing bound by physics. The concept of reality shifting without perceptible rhyme or reason makes you nervous, does it not?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah."

"I always knew we had different perceptions of reality," Gary said. "It seems Azeroth has only broadened that gap."

The guide continued. "The Master does not meddle in the affairs of mortals. He is a custodian – as we all are. He merely corrects alterations others have made to the river of time – and it _is_ a river. It flows, mostly in one direction, but it can be disrupted by blockages, and even turned back the way it came, with proper intervention. It branches out, splits, and merges, and it carries things along. Sometimes it moves quickly, other times it moves slowly. And most importantly, it distorts what you see. Perception does not dictate reality."

"That's… very deep," James commented.

"It is merely the truth." The guide stopped. "Normally we are enough to maintain time. We fix small disruptions – I mean little things like wizards giving themselves the winning numbers to the Stormwind Lottery to boost their wealth or power. But larger disruptions require more attention." She pointed to the various tunnels. "These caves are called timeways. They are infinite in number. The ones that currently exist in your reality are 'trouble spots' in need of assistance beyond what the custodians alone can give. They all share a cause – created by the same temporal disruption, somewhere, somewhen. Even we have some difficulty pinning it down, but we can guess…"

The guide then continued walking to a timeway. It didn't look all that different from the streets of Stormwind, though frozen in time. There were peasants and mounted guards, completely still and apparently made of bronze, but so lifelike in texture that they might well have been turned from flesh _into_ bronze. Every hair was an individual strand of shiny bronze, and the people had textured skin. It was quite unnerving to look at them. There were banners with the symbol of Lordaeron on the walls and on posts, completely still, even when there logically _should_ have been some movement of air to wave them, even slightly. "This timeway leads to the Culling of Stratholme, where Arthas turned on his own subjects. No doubt, you know the story. Someone is trying to prevent this from ever happening – as good as it sounds, it would be catastrophic to have this timeway collapse. I can't tell you all the details."

They continued to the next timeway. Misty looked to her left to see what was down this one, and found herself staring into the eight beady bronze eyes of a time-petrified spider the size of a small horse. She let out a little yelp and stumbled backward. "It's okay, Misty. It's just a bronze statue," Gary assured her, hugging her when she fell back against him.

"Until we animate them. Sometimes we need to bring the statues to life," the guide said. "But not now," she assured the girl. She looked into the timeway. The giant bronze tarantula was sitting on a giant stone arch half-buried in the sand, covered in slime and vines. The timeway clearly led into a swamp, as all sorts of wetland vegetation lined the tunnel. On either side was a statue not unlike those at the Dark Portal. "This timeway leads to the Black Morass, the swamp that existed where the Blasted Lands now lie. Here, someone is trying to prevent the portal from ever opening – and thus wiping out most of Azeroth's recent history by preventing the orcs from arriving. Come, let's carry on."

The next timeway had trees like those in Ashenvale and other night elf territories. Among the trees were fabulous buildings with archways and columns made of shiny black stone and richly adorned with gold filigree and gems. There were no frozen beings here. Peering down the tunnel, Quel'Delar's Chosen could make out a portal-arch, like the one in the Stormwind mage tower. "This one is currently the oldest timeway open to this reality. It leads back to the destruction of the first Well of Eternity, some ten thousand years ago."

More bronze humans stood outside another timeway. This one had towers adorned with the Lordaeron banner as well, and pine trees in both green and orange. "Hillsbrad Foothills. Specifically, the escape of Thrall from Durnholde."

Appropriately enough, Tracey was riding along the very same path that Thrall had taken on that fateful day. Hillsbrad hadn't changed much since then, visually, although very recently the Forsaken had taken over the human towns and either demolished or completely refitted them. The rogue looked at the map as the horse plodded along. It wasn't far to his destination – nestled in the Alterac Mountains.

In the Caverns of Time, however, Hillsbrad was of little concern to Quel'Delar's Chosen, who had moved on to see a pine forest. Wisps of ethereal bronze floated among the trees. "This leads to the battle at Mount Hyjal. Surely you remember it, night elf. But, these don't concern you at the moment."

The guide led them to one final tunnel, an ominous one, charred and littered with dragon bones and burning trees. The flames never seemed to get anywhere. "This is a unique portal. The only one currently in our collection that leads to the future." Every face went pale. The timeway certainly didn't look at all pleasant. "Or should I say, _a_ future. This is the one Nozdormu wanted to talk to you about."


	83. All Falling Into Place

The guide led Quel'Delar's Chosen to Nozdormu, then went on her way. "Now do you see?" the wise bronze dragon asked. "Of course, you already knew that terrible things would happen should the Hour of Twilight come to pass. You are wondering why I would bother to show you such a future." Nozdormu lowered his head to peer into the mortals' eyes. "I have a plan. I have had this plan for _many _years. Have you heard of the Dragon Soul?"

A chill ran down Gary's spine. "I've had nightmares about it. But it was destroyed, wasn't it?"

"Yes. But in the Caverns of Time, what has happened is not set in stone. The Dragon Soul, you know, was able to hurt Neltharion, even when the Aspects could not."

"So you want us to go back in time and steal the Dragon Soul," Thisalee said.

"Won't that cause a paradox?" Misty asked warily. "And what does that have to do with the end of time?"

"Patience," Nozdormu said. "I will explain what we do about the paradox later. What is important right now is that in the End Time there is an entity blocking my ability to move backwards in time. We can't get to the Dragon Soul until it is destroyed."

"Wait, I'm confused," Ash said. "If the thing in the future is blocking you, how come you weren't blocked before, if that was always the future?"

"Because it is blocking a certain time. I knew this would happen – at a certain point in time, I would be blocked from using my powers. It's the same way the timeways lead to exact points in time, even though our time continues to flow. The obstruction from the future is likewise blocking my power in a specific time – the one we're in now."

"But if we kill it in the future, won't there always be other timelines that have the obstruction still alive because they take place before we kill it?" Brock asked.

"Yes," Nozdormu answered, as though pleased that he'd explained well enough that the mortals would understand. "But you must remember: _your_ timeline is not the default. There will always be a moment in some timeline or another when the obstruction is blocking me in another timeline. But that blocked timeline won't always be _this_ timeline. If, say, the obstruction is blocking my abilities exactly twenty years earlier, and we kill it in timeline A, then it will stop blocking timeline B which is synched up exactly twenty years behind timeline A. Even though timeline C – let's say, three days behind A – will still have an obstruction blocking timeline D, taking place twenty years and three days before timeline A. But timeline B will have the restriction lifted, and three days later, so will D."

"I think I get it then. Timelines all flow at the same speed, and time travel is centered around jumping over a certain number of them rather than to a certain time," Gary said.

"Right. It's just that we calibrate time portals to adjust for the difference as their own timeline shifts."

"I don't get it," Ash said.

"Imagine a bunch of rolls of film," the mage said, "all of the same movie, all lined up side by side, but each one is offset by one frame. If they're all being rolled up at the same pace, moving up three rolls will take you three frames ahead, no matter where you are, but to get to five minutes in, you'll have to move a different number of frames depending on whether you're ten minutes in or twenty."

The warrior struggled to wrap his mind around this. Nozdormu sighed. "If it helps, you can think of different moments in time as places instead. That's not how it works, but your temporally grounded mind may better understand."

"We may be here a while," Misty said. "We'd better send word to Tracey so he can find us if he needs to." Nozdormu called for one of his drakes to serve as a messenger.

XXX

Tracey managed to sneak past all the guards, into the center of the Ravenholdt Manor. He wasn't the only stealthy individual in there, as he quickly discovered.

"Well, I must say I'm pleasantly surprised," a voice said. The rogue spun around, dagger ready. He found himself facing a dark-skinned boy – Wrathion. This time, the dragon child was wearing a very strange outfit: black dragonscales and some pieces of armor over white cloth. His boots had curled tips, and he wore a white turban with a red band around it, matching the red sash on his waist. "I didn't expect you to get this far, Tracey."

The assassin looked at him suspiciously. "What do you mean, you didn't expect me to get this far?"

"That wasn't an official SI:7 mission, you know. I forged it myself – quite a convincing document, if I do say so. I'm a little disappointed that you didn't catch that, but also proud – my research has served me well, it seems."

"Why?"

"Well, I knew you were part of Quel'Delar's Chosen – that meant you were skilled, already. So I did a little poking around; I'm quite the rogue myself. You were difficult to track, Tracey, very difficult. But you looked promising, so I decided to test you. You have passed, I'll have you know. You managed to elude all my guards. You slipped past like a ghost. That makes you… valuable, to me."

"I work for Stormwind," the rogue replied, still tense and ready to make a snap decision.

"We're on the same side! Don't you see? We're after the same thing, aren't we? I want to destroy Deathwing and end the corruption of the Blackflight. Don't you? But I can't do it alone. I could use a rogue like you – in fact I _need_ your help. Trust me, Tracey. I'll make this worth your while. _Very_ worth your while."

Tracey still looked very suspicious. "Alright. Keep talking."


	84. AD 2300

Wrathion and his rogue companion walked over to a table with maps on it. A dark man named Fahrad stood by. "Your first target is here," the man said. He pointed to a place on the map.

"I've heard that you're quite familiar with the terrain of Gilneas – you got out right before the kingdom collapsed," Wrathion said.

"Yes…" Tracey looked at the map thoughtfully. "What's my target?"

"A dragon by the name of Creed. He's deluded a group of remaining humans into thinking they can take their land back if they follow him. He's poisoned them with his draconic essence. We haven't been able to slip past his defenders, but we've got a man on the scene keeping an eye on him. Zazzo Twinklefingers, a very crafty arcane mage, is waiting for us to contact him just outside of the ruins of the Gilnean capital."

The rogue sighed. He'd hoped he wouldn't have to go back. "I'll get going."

Wrathion nodded. "If you live through this, I assure you, it will be worth it."

XXX

Quel'Delar's Chosen stepped into End Time, the future in which Deathwing succeeded in bringing about the end of the world. "Do you recognize this place?" Nozdormu asked. He was accompanying the heroes in his elf form. He would not interfere, but he would guide the heroes and explain things to them.

After a moment, Kai spoke up. "This is Dragonblight."

"Indeed," the bronze Aspect said. The blinding snow was gone, melted away in the flames of a catastrophy. Only charred stone remained, gray and lifeless. Dragon bones still littered the landscape, blackened. There were no cobwebs on them, for not even spiders had survived the Hour of Twilight. All life was gone, all but the entity that blocked Nozdormu's powers, and perhaps twilight dragons – and even they would eventually die as they began to run out of food and oxygen. Overhead, the sky was filled with black clouds of dust and smoke. The bronze dragon pointed to the side, and the mortal heroes looked. There was the ruined Wyrmrest Temple. It was falling apart, lava pouring down over its sides from the impaled corpse of Deathwing, hanging limp atop it. "He sacrificed himself to the Old Gods, if you're wondering. Even he knew better than to outlive his usefulness."

"Alright, so let's find the thing that's blocking you, and then go back to the Caverns. I don't want to stay here," Ash said. "It's creepy."

"Before we do that, we must eliminate the echoes of the past. The details are… too much to explain. Just know that we must. _Then_ we will face Murozond."

"Lead on, then," Misty said. She called out her vaporeon.

"Good idea," Gary acknowledged, letting his absol out to accompany them.

Nozdormu took them through a strange golden device that teleported them to one of the five Dragonshrines. "This is all that is left of the Blue Dragonshrine. A great battle shattered the timeways leading out of this forsaken place. You must reconstruct the fragments strewn across the ground and defeat the trapped spirit to proceed." The bones of dragons were still curled around a pillar of arcane energy. The shattered remains of arcane disks were embedded in the ground. Gary's eyes went wide when he saw the arcane spike. This was where Malygos had redirected Ley Lines to in an attempt to prevent mortals from using magic. Ironically, it would now serve to boost the power of a very mortal mage.

Ghosts of humans and high elves wandered the area. Defeating them was an easy task; Nozdormu stood by the gold device and watched over Quel'Delar's Chosen as they fought the ghosts and gathered shattered fragments of some sort of runestone. When at last they'd collected them all, they began putting the fragments together.

Brock put the last fragment in place, and the runes glowed momentarily.

"I don't know who you are, but I'll defend this shrine with my life. Leave now, before we come to blows," a familiar voice said.

"Jaina!" Gary exclaimed, recognizing the wispy ghost. He was both glad to see her and absolutely horrified. "I'm sorry this happened, Jaina. But maybe we can preve-" He was walking over to her as he spoke, but she seemed angry and fearful.

"Stay back!" she shouted, blasting the younger mage in the chest with a frostbolt.

Gary took a moment to recover. "Jaina! Don't you recognize me?"

"I don't know you! All I know is that you've come to do this place harm! I won't let that happen! I hate resorting to violence, but you have pushed me to it!" She started casting a fire spell.

"Gary, stop trying to reason with her!" Starwisp pulled the boy away quickly. "She's been twisted by time and is clearly mad! She does not remember any of us!"

The young mage countered Jaina's spell, stopping her from casting it. "I… don't want to fight Jaina…" he said quietly, well aware that his statement wouldn't make a lick of difference. He was already starting to cast a fireball.

Starwisp shot the ghost with an arcane arrow, Jessie started casting soulfire, and James rushed in with his runeblade ready. Brock threw a lava bolt. Jaina flung another spell at Gary, a pyroblast.

Misty rushed to heal him. "Okay, Ash, go get her attention. We can't have Gary taking damage like that. Jaina hits _really_ hard. It'll run me out of mana so fast…"

"I'm on it," the warrior said. "Pikachu, help me out here." The pokemon was happy to help, shocking the sorceress. Something snapped in Ash, something completely new. Perhaps it was the effect of the amulet, or his bond with Pikachu, or the pillar of arcane energy, or something else altogether, but for the first time, Ash used combat magic. He stomped his foot and lightning shot out all around him. The sound of a thunderclap echoed off the walls of the dragonshrine. Even warriors could use a limited form of magic. Ash would never be a spellcaster like Gary or even like Misty, but he wasn't entirely nonmagical.

Jaina blinked away. "Perhaps some ice will cool the fire in your hearts." She cast a spell that even Gary didn't know – three razor-sharp blades of ice tore along the ground, looking for all the world like giant shark fins slicing through water. It was fairly easy for everyone to simply step out of the way.

She didn't let up, instead casting a flarecore onto the ground. Jessie didn't know how to cast the spell herself, but she did recognize it. "Blow those up! It hurts less to detonate them than to let them grow and blow up on their own!" She ran over to it and kicked it, causing it to blast her with fire. It would have been far worse without that intervention.

Thisalee started channeling starfire down onto Jaina. She wasn't a strong caster – she was more of a shifter herself – but the spell did do a good amount of damage.

Jaina cast a frostbolt volley, hitting everyone in the area. Vaporeon retaliated with a frost attack of her own. Gary threw a very powerful pyroblast, and the fight was over as quickly as it started. Jaina's echo was, of course, weaker than the real thing, faded by time. Suddenly the ghostly sorceress seemed to recognize them.

"Gary? What happened? I…" She put her hands on her face. "I'm dead. I have been dead. This… this is the end already. I failed. I… I understand now. Thank you. I don't know how you're here, but you must be doing something… to save us? Is it not too late?"

"We're trying to change history, Jaina. We won't let this happen to you."

"I see. Good luck, and farewell." Jaina's spirit faded away, finally at ease.

Nozdormu motioned for Quel'Delar's Chosen to follow him through the gold gate again. "We have three more spirits to calm!" They moved to the Emerald Dragonshrine – though none of them knew it for what it was. It was utterly dark! Nobody could see a thing, save maybe a shadowy, unidentifiable shape here and there, slightly darker than the surroundings. The only light was that of the stars, visible through skeletal tree branches above, and that was practically useless. "There is an unnatural darkness here; a perpetual midnight. Take caution, heroes… and _do not stray from the light._"

Gary conjured a fireball and held it in his hand. The darkness was powerful, and his flame lit no more than a single foot radius. The mage couldn't even see his own legs in the darkness. "It's no use," he said. Even Pidge, a creature made of fire, only projected light about a foot away. Misty, feeling afraid, prayed for help from the Holy Light. A ball of golden light appeared before her, leading her on. It was at least three times as effective as Gary's attempt, but even it didn't light all the way to the ground. Still, none of the heroes could even see their own feet as anything more than faint silhouettes in the dark. Gary gave up on casting his spell – Misty's light was far more effective, and his own was almost useless.

Suddenly, red eyes pierced the shadows – dozens of them. "Uh!" Jessie tried to point them out, but they kept moving, blinking in the dark. Something growled.

"Elune guide us!" Starwisp muttered. It was so dark even she couldn't see what was going on – as a night elf, that was a very unfamiliar and terrifying feeling! Thisalee seemed similarly frightened, though she would never admit it. She and Ash walked closer to each other. The paladin and the mage held hands nervously, trying to comfort each other. The pokemon tried not to be tripped on, since nobody could see the smaller ones down in the darkness. Absol was as silent as a shadow and even his white fur didn't show up well in this supernatural midnight. At least he was tall enough to come up to above his master's waist – that made it easier to track where he was.

"There," James said, pointing out a beam of light. Nobody could see where he was pointing in the dark, so he moved over to where Misty's light was and pointed from there. Everyone rushed over into it, but as soon as they started, the shadows attacked! The red eyes lunged forward, the rest of the creatures black as night and practically invisible in the dark, save moving shapes of unknown form. Meowth recognized them by sound: big cats of some sort. Everyone else was too busy running for their lives to identify the noise.

Once they got into the light, they could see the cats – white tigers and leopards with saber fangs. The bloodthirsty animals had already torn armor and clothing apart, and wanted more flesh. Ash slashed one of them across the face with a sword. The light seemed to weaken them, as they were very easy to kill as long as the light shone on them. But it was fading. Gary cast a blizzard over the fading light, trying to hit every hostile creature within, and Jessie did the same with fire. Many of the cats fell, but the light was gone.

"Give yourselves to the night," a voice said, "and Elune will guide you from your mortal prison."

"Tyrande?" both night elves said in shock. Another beam of light filtered through the trees, and Quel'Delar's Chosen scrambled for its comfort. Kai took his human form to take up less space in the small ring of moonlight. This time, only a few cats followed them in – this time, spectral night elves were their opponents. The ghosts of fallen huntresses and sentinels wanted vengeance. Pidge dove through them, spinning, acting like a giant fire-arrow.

Misty held her sword up and let the Light burst forth to strike down the undead, and banish the shadows. It only complete one of those tasks. Then the moonlight faded again. As it did, a new light, faint, began to shine in the center of the dragonshrine, amidst the bones of green dragons. A forgotten moonwell still held some of Elune's power. In the center was a stone platform – a shattered statue of some sort, reduced to only its bottom quarter. A figure stood up on the platform.

"You have chosen a path of darkness. Mother moon, guide my hand; allow me to bring rest to these misbegotten souls." Tyrande lifted her arms skyward. Like Jaina, she didn't recognize any of them.

"Go, be with Elune," Thisalee said sadly. She started channeling a starfire attack. Starwisp pulled an arrow back as the tip began to glow with arcane energy. Kai took his dragon form and breathed fire at the ghostly night elf.

"Begone, creature of shadow!" The fallen priestess cried, blasting Kai with moonlight energy.

Jessie threw a chaos bolt, followed by an immolate spell. The death knight cast frost magic at the elf. Vaporeon backed this with more ice.

"Moon goddess, your light dims! I am lost without your guidance!" Tyrande called out to the sky. She threw a bolt of blue energy into the ground. It snaked along and split into three bolts of glowing energy. Quel'Delar's Chosen had enough experience with such things to know better than to stand on them.

"Eyes of night, pierce this darkness!" the night elf leader begged. Two glowing orbs appeared and began to circle. They were simple enough to avoid.

Gary moved out of the way while casting scorch. He loved being able to move and cast at the same time. A series of quick fire spells triggered his pyroblast, which he threw immediately.

Thisalee was running out of mana already. She was a fighter, not a caster, but her bird form wouldn't do much good against the ghost. She started chain-casting wrath, a golden bolt of energy.

The priestess tried to throw stardust at her enemies, but Brock blew it away by manipulating the element of air. "Mother moon, I can no longer see your light! Your daughter is alone in the darkness!" The tears of Elune began to fall over the forgotten moonwell. They were slow, and glowed brightly. Misty was able to heal anyone who didn't get out of the way with ease.

Meowth shot an arcane arrow at the priestess, and landed the final blow. "I… can see the light of the moon… so clearly now. It's beautiful…" Tyrande whispered, fading away.

"Good, two down. Let's get out of here," Brock said, wanting nothing more to do with the shadow forest.


	85. Slaves to this Torment

Nozdormu led Quel'Delar's Chosen on to the Ruby Dragonshrine, or what remained of it. The once great red tree was nothing more than charcoal now. A shrine meant to be blooming with life was inhabited now only by the lingering remains of a handful of leftover Scourge that had somehow escaped the end of the world, or perhaps had risen after it. It was a depressing sight. Tori stared, not sure what to make of it. If only the whelp had understood the history of the place, she would have been torn to the heart by it.

"Hey look, undead things," Gary said. "Misty, do your thing." The paladin was already on it.

"Just another day's work," James said, charging at the remaining undead monsters.

Nozdormu looked over the ruined shrine. "This is where she stood, and this is where she fell: the echo of Sylvanas Windrunner haunts this dragonshrine."

"Oh irony," Thisalee said.

It didn't take long to clear the place out. Sylvanas, of course, didn't recognize anyone. She assumed they were minions of Deathwing, and immediately attacked. Misty was very busy keeping everyone healed, as the Dark Lady was a formidable opponent. Her black arrows and shadow magic were very effective, but the fight went smoothly until Sylvanas called upon the fallen to help her.

"Watch, heathens, as death surrounds you!" And that was literally what happened. Ghouls rose up in a circle and slowly marched inward, trailing black shadows behind them. Every ghoul had a chain of energy over to the next one, creating a fence of painful magic that would kill anyone who tried to cross through.

"They're moving too quickly!" Ash said. "Everybody focus on one ghoul and maybe we can get out of here!" He charged the nearest ghoul, but it did not slow down or fight back. Everyone else fell in on it as well, all trying to kill it before the circle smothered them.

The ghouls closed in; panic began to strike. Everyone gave it everything they had, and at the last moment, the ghoul fell. The dark chains snapped and the shadows behind it faded, creating a small corridor to safety. One at a time, Quel'Delar's Chosen rushed out, and just as the last of them escaped, Sylvanas tried to catch them by draining the dark energy from the ghouls and casting it in a shadowy explosion that barely missed.

"Okay, go, go, go!" Starwisp urged. "We want to get her down before she does that again!"

The undead elf tried to trap the mage where he stood with black magic, but he blinked away just as she started casting a volley of deadly arrows where he'd been standing.

In the end, though, she stood no chance against all of Quel'Delar's Chosen and their pokemon, and they quickly moved on to the final shrine before confronting the entity: the obsidian shrine. Of all the shrines they'd seen, this was the most intact, not that that was too difficult, considering in its original condition it had already been little more than rocks and magma. However, now there was much more lava and far less ground to stand on.

"The undying flames are all that remain of this once sacred place," Nozdormu explained. "I sense a seething rage here, held barely in check. Be on your guard…"

Kai looked sadly at the shrine and let out a soft whine. Starwisp gently patted his neck. Ghostly black drakes circled around what was left of the land. They wouldn't be hard to avoid. The shaman, death knight, and mage set about putting up frost spells to protect from the heat of the lava while everyone else simply prepared for battle.

They easily got past the ghostly drakes, and onto the first platform in the lava, but then they got to take a good look around. There were three other floating rocks in the lava. None of them looked stable. On the farthest one, a ghostly tauren stood. This was the echo of Baine, son of Cairne, the former leader of the tauren.

"You!" he said, looking right at Kai. "Are you the one responsible for what has happened here?" The drake looked terribly guilty. "By my ancestors' honor, I'll punish you for the horrors you've wrought! Come then! Fight me!"

Gary looked over the platforms. The one they were on was too far away to be of much use. He didn't want too many people on any given platform either, or they might collapse it. Obviously, Ash, Kai, and James would have to be on the platform with Baine, so it was a matter of splitting the ranged ones. "Okay, melee goes to the tauren's platform. Jessie, Brock, and Starwisp take the left platform. Misty and I will take the right platform. Meowth, you can come with us. Thisalee can fly around and help us out – I have a feeling we may need it on this unstable ground."

The paladin took a running jump to get to her platform, and the others followed her example. "Vaporeon, stay here with me," she commanded. Ash continued running upon landing and leapt over to the tauren's platform. Gary called his absol back, blinked over to the platform, and threw his pokeball to the target platform to get his pokemon across the lava safely.

Baine's platform rocked about terribly as the fighting began. Somehow, though, he managed to aim when tossing a totem over at Jessie. She darted out of the way, and Thisalee dove down to grab it. She flew back to the tauren and threw his own totem back at him. It hit him squarely in the head, knocking him silly. The druid flew away laughing while the fighters went to town on him.

Once he recovered, he jumped toward the platform Meowth, Misty and Gary were standing on, shattering it. The mage just blinked away, while the paladin grabbed Tori in one hand and called on the light to protect her from damage, and simply swam to the other platform. Thisalee came to the rescue again, grabbing Meowth in her claws and carrying him away. Vaporeon jumped for the main platform and took her water form. It would offer some protection against the lava, but the high temperature would certainly start the water boiling – not a good thing to happen. Kai swung his tail around to the lava for her to grab onto, and pulled her out before anything terrible could happen.

Unfortunately, the tauren, being not all part of the physical world, was immune. Baine's weapon, dripping with lava, was now very dangerous. "Oh shit," Ash muttered. "This is going to hurt like hell."

The paladin crawled up onto the other platform and resumed healing. "Brock, help me out here – the lava's really causing trouble and I can't keep up."

Baine threw another totem, and once again got smacked in the head with it when Thisalee brought it back. This stun proved to be all that was needed to finish him off. The heroes quickly retreated back to solid ground, past the spectral dragons, and prepared for one last fight in the End Time.

As they recovered, they wondered what could possibly wait for them in the fifth dragonshrine.

"Nozdormu," James asked, "if this is what would happen to Azeroth if Deathwing isn't stopped… What's the fate of our world?"

"Much the same," the wise Aspect told him. "And that's why you're here, and now. To prevent such an end. Remember what you're fighting for…"

"And Outland?" Kai asked.

"That would be the last target; a last minute change for the plans of the cultists. It too would be obliterated. _Everything_ is at stake. Let me show you."

Visions flashed through the minds of Quel'Delar's Chosen: the ruins of Indigo Plateau, charred and bent, dead dragons and pokemon strewn all over; a black crater where the circle of stone once stood on Shamouti Island; the Blade's Edge Mountains in outland, with all the stone needles snapped and lying on the ground in pieces, grey in the darkness and under the falling soot; a giant carbonized stump where Teldrassil was, with charcoal remains of trees and night elf buildings atop it, dry and lifeless in a stormy, poisonous sea.

The bronze Apsect turned to look in the direction of the last dragonshrine. "This is why you must defeat Murozond."


	86. Let's Do the Time Warp Again

_Author's Note: Yes, I know. Time Warp isn't a channeled spell. Rule of Drama, folks!_

The bronze dragonshrine was not all that different in the End Time. It was still merely a pit of sand with dragon bones in it, and an hourglass in the center, held above the ground on pivot stand. Across the shrine there stood a strange dragon, exactly like Nozdormu's draconic form, but black as night, with cracks in his skin that shone eerie blue light, as his horns, wings, and claws did.

"I can follow you no further, heroes," Nozdormu said. "Accept my blessing, and use the Hourglass of Time to defeat Murozond. He is the one interfering."

"How exactly do we use the hourglass?" Jessie asked. "What's it do?"

"Merely turn it over. I'll create a temporal snapshot when you enter combat against Murozond. When you turn the hourglass, it will return all things to the way they were when the snapshot was created – except your memories, and Murozond himself. He is immune to the hourglass's power. We can use that against him. His wounds will remain, while yours will heal. Your mana will return to you, your strength will regenerate. In fact, the power of the hourglass is such that should one of you fall in combat, you will be resurrected when the hourglass turns – after all, you will all be alive at the time I create the snapshot."

"So we're immortal for this fight?!" Ash asked, excited by the idea. "That's awesome!"

Nozdormu frowned. "With one catch. The hourglass has only limited power. You may turn it five times – no more. After the fifth turn, its power will be expended. Use it wisely, and try to drag out every use as long as you can. You have only five chances to kill Murozond." He turned to the young mage. "One last thing. I have a spell I'd like to teach you, Gary."

The mage looked at him, wide eyed. To learn magic from an Aspect was an incredible honor. "I… I… Are you sure I'm the right person for this?"

Nozdormu smiled. "I'd like to teach you to bend time. Not to control it – merely bend it. It will take much of your strength, and you shouldn't try it too frequently, lest you lose synch with your own time, but for this particular battle, I want you to have this in your arsenal. It will be all but necessary. You can make time flow differently for you and your allies than for the rest of the world, giving you the upper hand. This shouldn't take long for you to learn. Close your eyes and focus your strength and will…"

XXX

Quel'Delar's Chosen stepped forward, ready for battle. They made sure to rest and prepare themselves and their pokemon as much as possible, so they could return to the best possible state of being when the hourglass was turned.

"The 'End Time', I once called this place," Murozond said. "I had not seen, by then; I did not know. You hope to... what? Stop me, here? Change the fate I worked so tirelessly to weave? You crawl unwitting, like a blind, writhing worm, towards endless madness and despair. I have witnessed the true End Time. This? This is a blessing you simply cannot comprehend."

"Go!" Nozdormu shouted. "The snapshot is in place! Attack!"

Gary focused on the timestream and used every shred of will and power to bend it. It wasn't much, but the world slowed down for Quel'Delar's Chosen. Sand kicked up by the charging warrior slowly floated to the ground like snow. Thisalee didn't have to flap her wings too hard or frequently, as the air seemed thick, and gravity was gentle to her, and Kai experienced the same carefree floating sensation. Murozond tried to swat at Ash with his claws, but the warrior was able to dodge the sluggish attack.

As there was room to work with, onix was able to join the attack. It shoved Murozond with its head, forcing him to step to the side. The infinite dragon turned sideways to attack the pokemon – exactly what everyone wanted him to do. Though he clawed at the onix, the motions were slow enough to Quel'Delar's Chosen that they were able to attack him anyway. Ash, James, and absol attacked the dragon's legs, staying well clear of the tail, even though with time slowed, they could probably jump over it if they needed to.

Misty was able to devote almost half of her efforts to attacking instead of healing. With the slowed damage and the capability of resurrection, she didn't feel too worried. Her vaporeon blasted scales off Murozond's body with her elemental attacks. Thisalee landed and began picking at the cracks in his hide with her beak. Kai circled above, breathing fire. Murozond turned his head and spat a bolt of – something. It was clear, but it was a definite bolt of distortion, much like the haze above a road on a hot day.

"Move away from that," Nozdormu instructed. "Temporal distortion has strange effects on a body."

Jessie and Starwisp did as they were told. They could see the impact – a circle appeared on the ground of spinning distortion.

Gary stopped casting and simply took a moment to regain his strength. Time sped up again and Murozond was suddenly much more dangerous now that he was running on the same timescale as they were. His attacks seemed to become more frequent and less easy to dodge. The air was thin again and gravity worked as it always had.

Murozond breathed pale blue fire at everyone, then spat more distortion bolts. It was becoming hard to avoid them. He brought his claw down on the warrior and death knight, shredding their armor. Kai raised his claws to protect himself as the blue wing came up to swat him, and he did tear into the membrane, but he was also thrown into the ground, head first. No sooner had the dragon hit the ground than the paladin and the mage managed to push the hourglass into a flip, struggling against the bottom until it creaked and rotated. Everyone was dragged back through time in what felt like a single dizzying second, except Murozond himself.

"Hah! The powers of the hourglass do nothing to me!" Murozond said, as though he thought there was something else the heroes were trying to accomplish with it besides restore their own strength. "I cannot be reverted, fools!"

"Holy crap, did I just die?" Kai asked. "I can't tell if my neck snapped or not there. Yay for rewinding time."

The mage felt all his strength restored and cast his time warp once again. Again, his friends were able to gain the upper hand.

Brock slammed his warhammer into the ground under Murozond's belly. The sand flew up sluggishly as the earth cracked. Stone jutted up from the ground, emerging slowly from the sand, and pierced the dragon's hide.

"Hey, did anyone else notice the distortion places are gone now?" Jessie asked.

"I didn't catch that," Ash said. "Good eye. That could come in handy." He jumped up and dug both swords into the dragon's side, then let gravity pull him down, tearing gashes into Murozond's body. The wyrm roared. He turned toward the warrior and spat more distortion bolts. Pikachu blasted him with electricity. He shook his head and cringed.

An arrow struck him in the head, followed by a bolt of holy energy. Fire licked over his scales. Again, Murozond blasted his enemies with fire. Meowth darted up his tail, over his back, and onto his head. The pokemon jabbed the shortsword into the side of Murozond's face, but was shaken off by the flailing dragon. The wyrm caught him in his teeth as he fell, shook him, and threw the lifeless body across the shrine.

Ash dodged the attack as the dragon swatted at him with a claw. As the onix smacked into the wyrm again, Murozond stumbled to the side, and caught James under his claw. The talon sank right into the death knight's chest.

Gary's spell ran out again, and Murozond was fighting harder than before. There was no way the healer could keep up. Misty rushed to turn the hourglass. A distortion bomb landed right next to her. Then, with a creak, the glass turned. The dead were restored to life again.

"To repeat the same action and expect different results is madness!" Murozond roared. Nobody listened. They were just glad for the existence of the hourglass. With only them against this insanely powerful dragon, it was a good thing they had access to resurrection.

XXX

The rogue did not lift his hood or lower his mask. "You're Zazzo?" he asked the gnome. It was pretty clear that it must be him.

"The one and only," the mage replied. "You've been sent by _the Prince?_" he prompted.

"At Ravenholdt," the rogue confirmed.

"I hope you're a better assassin than the others. Name?"

"Tracey."

"The city's been in chaos for a while now. Hiram Creed, disguised as a Gilnean, has infected the lot of those dogs with his own draconic blood. Even the Forsaken are having trouble routing him out. Only a surgical assassination can end this! The bridge behind me is relatively unguarded. Slip in through merchant's square and head south - you'll find Creed in the middle of the military district. I'll keep an eye on you and pull you out if there's any trouble."

Tracey wasn't sure if he took offense at the Gilneans being referred to as 'dogs' in such a derogatory manner or not, but he decided it wasn't worth bringing up. It was none of Zazzo's business anyway.

Without warning, a high elf in a bronze robe appeared. "I knew you'd be here at this time," he said. "I bring word from the Caverns of Time. Rogue, your friends will be there for quite a while. When you're done, go there to meet them. No rush." He vanished as quickly as he'd appeared, slipping through time.

XXX

"How much longer can you keep at this, mortals? The hourglass's power runs low. Surely it will run out soon!"

While his mana and strength returned with every flip of the hourglass, Gary was beginning to feel the emotional fatigue of putting so much effort into casting the same spell over and over. He had to keep going, though. With this spell, his friends would have a chance.

Pikachu ran up the dragon's tail and onto his back. Then it used a thunder attack to bring a bolt of electrical power down right into Murozond's spine. His hind legs collapsed from the impulse. This gave Ash a chance to drive his blades right into the wyrm's chest, not deep enough to strike his heart, but enough to cause serious damage.

Brock cast a lava bolt at the infinite dragon. Onix turned and slammed its tail into Murozond's shoulders, bringing the dragon all the way to the ground.

Thisalee cast Faerie Fire at the wyrm, weakening his scaly armor. The paladin threw a hammer of light just as she had against Sindragosa in Icecrown Citadel, while the warlock cast a chaos bolt. Absol continued to tear at the dragon's wings while vaporeon launched a hydro pump.

The mage's spell ran out. Murozond started hauling himself back to his feet. It was all Gary could do to cast scorch, his most basic spell, in an attempt to help his friends.

The sword wielders slashed at the dragon as fast as they could. Kai breathed fire. Everyone gave it all they could, and at last, the wyrm collapsed. "No! You know not what you have done. Aman'Thul… What I… have… seen…!"

The heroes heard thudding behind them and turned to see Nozdormu, in his dragon form, walking calmly over to them. "At last it has come to pass. The moment of my demise. The loop… is closed. My future self will cause no more harm."

"Wait, that was you?" Ash asked. He wasn't the most observant of the group.

"I figured as much," Gary muttered. "It's not surprising really. Confusing, sure, but not surprising."

Nozdormu merely sighed. "In time, I will fall to madness. And you, heroes, will vanquish me." He looked at them sadly, but calmly. "I'm sorry that I would do this to you. But the cycle will repeat. So it goes…" He shook his head. "But what matters is that you did not fail. That you survive to fight another day! All that matters… is this moment."

"So the obstruction is cleared now?" Misty asked. Nozdormu nodded. The bronze dragon smiled wisely and gently down at her. He was easy to like, to look up to. Everyone felt it.

"Come, now. There is still work to be done."


	87. Assassinate Creed

Back in the Caverns of Time, Nozdormu, in his dragon form, explained the plan. "Now, under normal circumstances, I wouldn't explain such a thing to even my own wyrms, let alone mortal, but this is not a normal situation. How much do you know of the Dragon Soul?"

Gary knew quite a bit. "It was created by Deathwing to use against the Burning Legion. It was made with the power of the Aspects, denying them some of their strength. It was hidden after it corrupted Deathwing, until it was stolen by the Dragonmaw clan and they used its power to bend the Dragon Queen to their will. Then a mage destroyed it, returning the powers locked inside to the Aspects."

"That's the history we've _let_ you believe," Nozdormu said. "My plan involves _faking_ the Dragon Soul so we can safely remove the original from its place in time, just before the Sundering."

"The Sundering," Ash said. For once he knew what was being talked about. "That was the first time the world split apart, right? Before that it was just one giant continent."

"Precisely."

"But if we fake the Dragon Soul and steal the original, won't that screw up the timestream?" Misty asked. "I mean, how will – did? – the Aspects get their power back if it wasn't – won't be? – the real Dragon Soul being destroyed? And what about power over dragons? How do we fake that?"

"Because the power must come from somewhere else." Nozdormu's scaly lips curled back into a sly grin, as though he'd just told the best joke ever. "I had this all figured out from the start. Looking into the future I saw a need to create a backup plan. What most historians _don't_ know is that the Dragon Soul was not the only one of its kind! There were four others – lesser amulets. The Talismans of Strength, Desire, Patience, and Passion. Each was blessed by a dragonflight." He paused to let that sink in. "They drew their strength from stones that we selected carefully. Not just any stones – elemental stones. That was the last time the Aspects ever set foot in Kanto."

Gary suddenly cried out as though he'd had an epiphany! "The inscriptions! They make sense now! They all make sense now!"

Brock ignored him. "Then… where are the gems now?"

"Unfortunately, greedy treasure hunters pried them loose long ago. They were then killed by elementals, who recovered the talismans and gems and took them away to their respective planes."

"And we have to recover them so we can use their power to make a new Dragon Soul," Misty said.

"Exactly." Nozdormu seemed quite pleased with them – or perhaps with himself. "Of course there will be more to it than that, but for now you only need to concern yourselves with recovering the stones. First – air."

XXX

Tracey pressed himself into the shadows between the beams supporting the walls of a house. He lowered his head so the small section of his face visible between the mask and the hood couldn't be seen. Dressed all in black, he blended right in. The stormclouds overhead made everything darker and in the thin streets of Gilneas, there were plenty of shadows to hide in. Once the man had passed, the rogue slipped silently out of his hiding place and continued on.

He came to a bridge over one of the canals. _Would be nice to have my marill with me. That would make getting through the canals easier. On second thought, I should avoid them – I don't want to leave a trail of water – that'd do me in for sure._ He hopped down to the slanted edge of the canal. He gritted his teeth and tried to keep his balance, attempting to not slide down into the water. He managed to steady himself and slowly worked his way along the edge of the canal, keeping low so nobody could see him. The canals were pretty deep, so he didn't have to crouch or anything – that made Tracey's task much easier.

He got as close to his target as he could without leaving the canal. Then he peered over the edge. There were two men that he'd have to get by. Ducking back down, he pulled something from a pocket – a simple firecracker and a box of matches. The rogue lit the match, then used that to set the fuse on the tiny firecracker going. He dropped the match into the canal and tossed the little sphere into a pile of debris. Moments later it started making noise and light and letting off smoke. A cat ran yowling out of its hiding place.

"What the bloody hell was that?" one of the men asked. "Who goes there?" They both peered around the corner to see what was going on. Tracey darted from his hiding place and slipped into the narrow space between two buildings just as the men looked back from the diversion.

XXX

One of the female drakes teleported Quel'Delar's Chosen into Vortex Pinnacle. "Normally we wouldn't port mortals around like this, but this isn't a normal situation. You can call me Teladormi, by the way. I will essentially be your chauffeur between the Elemental Planes. Call me with this bell when you're ready to move on," she said, giving Gary a bronze bell. "It's enchanted – it'll only ring if you shake it on purpose. I can hear it no matter where I am, too. Good luck."

"So, this is the Elemental Plane of Air," Ash muttered, looking around. It was beautiful. He felt so perfectly _happy_ in this place, among the clouds! The elegantly engraved white stone buildings floated in a sky that had no earth beneath it. Sky in all directions, nothing but blue sky and warm fluffy clouds with golden highlights from an unknown light source. It looked like something out of a painting. Decorations in the shape of giant stone wings or statues of birds graced the beautiful, colonnaded structures. Glass or crystal bridges linked floating structures. Giant blue cabochons adorned high walls, gleaming in the light of an invisible sun. There was no time of day here, there was no sun. Instead, Skywall was lit by magic. It was timeless and airy and Ash, pikachu, and Thisalee _loved it._

"Let's get going. We have a magic gemstone to retrieve," Brock said. Unlike Ash, he didn't particularly like this place. It made him feel disoriented.

"We probably should have gone back to Kanto to switch out our pokemon to better fit the environment," Misty commented. "Actually, we should do that between every plane."

"Misty, do you _want_ me to keel over?" Gary asked. "Portals are tough, especially between worlds. I may make it look easy but it's really draining. I don't like the idea of getting prematurely gray hair or shaving years off my life, so, uh… No. The pokemon we have will work just fine."

"Right, I didn't think of that," the paladin said. "Alright, let's get to killing. We haven't got forever."

Like a well-oiled machine, Quel'Delar's Chosen tore through the air elementals that blocked their way. They soon met the first of their powerful opponents – Grand Vizier Ertan.

"Filthy beasts! Your presence in Skywall will not be tolerated!"

They were trapped! Ertan had put up a cyclone shield, and the adventurers were trapped in the eye of the storm. They could not leave it, not with the spinning, biting winds that swirled around them. They had no choice but to simply start unloading attacks into the elemental.

XXX

Tracey lunged, sinking the dagger right into the man's back – however, the dragon in disguise moved just enough that the wound wasn't fatal. He reached over his shoulder and grabbed the rogue's arm, then threw him over his head and onto the ground. Tracey tried to steady his now-blurry vision and get up despite the star of pain in the back of his head where he'd hit the stone-paved road. He stumbled, dizzy.

"Assassin, eh? Who sent you? Speak, or I'll carve the answer from your skull!"

Tracey managed to steady himself and the double-vision he was experiencing slowly merged back into regular sight. He said nothing, but called out his scyther. This would be a tough mark. Hiram Creed pulled out a blade of his own.

"Two on one? That's hardly fair," Creed taunted.

"There's no honor among thieves," Tracey replied. With that, he attacked.

XXX

Having defeated Ertan, the heroes had to move on to a new platform. Thisalee took her bird form and tried to scout it out – a gust of wind picked her up and tossed her about. Seeing that it took Pidge to the next platform, Thisalee tested whether it would carry a humanoid – she reverted to her night elf form, and to her delight the wind still carried her. It must have been magic. She laughed in glee. "Come on!" She called out. Ash was the first to put his faith in her words, and the wind carried him to her side. One by one, they all let the sky carry them over.

Again, the fighting was relatively easy. A few elementals, a couple sky dragons. Those weren't too difficult. They were smaller than Kai, weaker too. The healing circle the generated was a boon to the adventurers, who easily took over the ring of green light and pushed the dragons out.

So it was no surprise that they expected Altairus to be just as easy to kill. How wrong they were.


	88. Dancing on the Wind

Altairus, the wind dragon, stood on a circular platform surrounded by pillars. Though the air was still, it seemed full of energy just waiting to burst forth.

"You guys know the drill," Ash said. He ran in and faced off with the dragon. The wind picked up as the beast stepped toward its challenger, blowing the warrior's cape around. He braced himself against the powerful wind. Silvery, glittering dust blew off the dragon's scales and swirled downwind – whatever it was, it was probably bad. The other heroes avoided going near it.

Just as everyone was warming up, the wind shifted direction. Now the silver powder washed over the adventurers. They coughed and stumbled, dizzy and weak from it, and rushed to get away. Gary was the first to recover – as soon as he blinked away, the effects dissipated.

The wind grew more and more powerful, and as dust from the dragon's scales accumulated everywhere, great clouds were kicked up in all directions, shimmering. Quel'Delar's Chosen pressed on, weary and sick of fighting, and eventually triumphed.

"I'm so tired of all this. I just want to kill Deathwing and go home," Brock said. There was a murmur of agreement.

Thisalee saw another whirlwind that would take them to the third platform. She grabbed Ash's hand and dragged him excitedly over to it. "I love letting the sky carry me – I'm so at home here! Come on!" He didn't resist at all, and the next thing he knew they were being tossed gently through the clouds, holding hands and laughing as the wind carried them.

"You two are taking the phrase 'love birds' a bit too literally!" Misty teased, following them.

When they landed, they were startled by what they saw. "Tol'Vir. Oh, I'd forgotten all about the Neferset. Um… okay, uh. That one on the right looks like it's probably a healer. I'll polymorph it – and the other one, Starwisp, can you toss an ice trap over there?" Gary said. "Then we'll just mow the rest down."

"Right; I'm on it," the night elf agreed.

XXX

Scyther retreated a few yards, holding its wounded limb close to its body and growling defensively. Its master was also hurt, bleeding pretty badly, but still holding his own against Hiram.

"Enough! I tire of this disguise! This ends now!" Creed turned into a drake at that point and lunged! He caught Tracey's arm in his jaws, but the thick leather the rogue wore protected him somewhat. Cringing, eyes wide in pain, he tried to pull away and brought a dagger around toward the dragon's eye – Creed released him and reared up to dodge the attack.

"Scyther, now!" the rogue ordered. Though wounded, his pokemon followed his command, attacking with its good arm. Creed shrieked as the scythe tore into his flank. He spun and swung his claw at the bug pokemon. The old creature leapt back, dodging the attack. It glanced over at its master, who was quickly lowering his hood and mask – good, the pokemon had given him enough time!

The drake heard a fierce snarl and turned. Tracey had taken advantage of the distraction – he had hoped it would not have come to this, but he hadn't any choice but to take his worgen form.

The drake breathed fire at him, and he dropped to all fours to run out of the way. He felt the heat singe his mane. Snarling, he kicked off a cart and jumped at the drake! The rogue dug his claws into the dragon's side and moved to bite him – no, bad idea. Tracey stopped himself at the last moment. The last thing he needed was this creature's corrupted blood in his mouth. His hesitation cost him – the drake beat him off with its wing! Creed slashed at him with his claws again, this time tearing into his side – a very nasty wound; blood poured out. That would need immediate medical attention as soon as the fighting was over.

Creed shrieked as the scyther embedded a claw in his side. He turned to breathe fire at it, but Tracey defended his pokemon. The worgen jumped forward and raked his claws across the dragon's neck and throat. Creed let out a strangled cry. It would be only moments til he bled out. The pokemon and its master retreated to wait for the dragon to die. The worgen reverted painfully to his human form and leaned against a wall, breathing hard. Most of his kills had been quick and easy, or else he'd been with Quel'Delar's Chosen. Rarely did Tracey get so beat up in a fight, and now without Misty there to heal him, he had to do things the old fashioned way.

The rogue mentally thanked one of his packmates for teaching him first aid as he got the bandages and antiseptics out and set about mending his and his pokemon's wounds.

XXX

"Mortals have no place amongst the clouds!" the djinn shouted as the heroes charged into his lair. He cast chain lightning, hitting the entire group with a single attack that leapt from one person to another.

"Two can play at that," Brock said, casting a lightning bolt of his own. Pikachu backed him up. Ash once again used his limited lightning magic, stomping his foot into the ground as hard as he could, sending lightning bolts flying all around him.

Kai and Pidge circled, breathing fire at the djinn. The mage and warlock took turns throwing fire spells at him, taking advantage of the abundance of oxygen in Skywall to boost their flames. Thisalee threw herself into the djinn like a giant feathery dart, easily soaring away in the rich air.

The djinn started channeling a spell, drawing a line with lightning on the ground. "Al'Akir, your servant calls for aid!" Pikachu suddenly went absolutely nuts, crying out as loud as it could, in a panic. It bit Ash on the ear and ran toward the lightning. He understood, and followed it, but it still wouldn't stop panicking. Now the lightning had changed directions – Asaad was drawing a triangle on the ground.

"Everyone get over here!" Ash shouted – only when everyone was standing within the forming triangle did pikachu stop. It was just in time, too; the djinn teleported into the triangle with them as a lightning storm started up – only the inside of the triangle was safe. Unfortunately for Asaad, he hadn't expected everyone to avoid the lightning he'd summoned, and was now trapped with the adventurers inside the field. They took advantage of this to absolutely go to town on him. As the storm faded, he teleported again.

The djinn hesitated to attack, thinking that perhaps whatever reason the mortals had for being there wasn't worth being killed over. "What do you seek here? Skywall is no place for you!"

"You know very well what we want!" Ash said, holding up his lightning bolt pendant. Asaad's eyes widened, then he glared at the warrior.

"You will never have the gem! The Four Winds guard it! It is in the hands of Al'Akir himself!"

"Take us to Al'Akir then, and we'll spare you," Gary said, brandishing his sword.

"I'd sooner die!" Asaad shouted.

"We can arrange that," James said, blasting the djinn with unholy energy. The fight resumed with all the ferocity it had previously had, and didn't last much longer.

"Even if you destroy me, you will never reach the gem! The three other djinns protect it! You cannot slay them all together, and unless you somehow accomplish that, they can never be destroyed!"

"Thanks," Thisalee said, "that's all we needed to know. We've got no more use for you." With that, Quel'Delar's Chosen finished him off.

"So, the other three have to all be killed at once. Let's go see what we're up against," Brock said.


	89. Sky King

"Alright, so, it seems like we'll be able to travel between the platforms by those wind things, so that's not a problem. We can't spread thin enough to take on all three at once, so I'm thinking we should split mostly between two of them and then all fall in on the last one to bring him down fast," Gary said.

"We've only got two meat-shields," Kai pointed out.

"That's alright," Misty replied. "I'm sure I can pull it off if I heal through whatever onslaught I'm subjected to. That'll just mean whoever's with me will have to avoid taking much damage."

"I've noticed that green things usually have some form of healing ability," Brock said, "so we shouldn't put Misty near the green one. Healer-versus-healer fights can last forever. We want to put heavy damage over there so he can't heal through it."

"Alright, so instead of a traditional damage-sponge we'll have to just go for pure power there. That means Ash is free to distract the third djinn – the blue one over there," the mage said.

Ash looked to the north. There were icicles hanging off that platform. "Oh, goody." He started slowly clapping. "So excited. Thanks a million, Gary."

"No problem."

"You wanna take Thisalee with you?" Misty asked.

"Yes."

"Hey, don't I get a say in this?" the druid asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"As though you would choose to go with anyone else? Who are you kidding, Crow?" Gary smirked.

"Shut up, Oak, nobody asked you!"

"Actually you did."

"For god's sake," Brock said, "stop arguing and let's just kill the monsters!"

"Right. So, Ash and Thisalee go to the north platform and do whatever to keep him busy. Misty and I will take the right platform – the orange one – and why don't we take Starwisp with us? Everybody else go to the left platform. Try to get him down as fast as possible; don't worry about us falling behind, I can generate _plenty_ of power on my own, and with Starwisp helping me, it's no big deal at all."

"Slightly confident, Gary?" Jessie said. He just shrugged and held up his hand in a 'little bit' gesture.

"One thing though," Ash said. "If you're going to be killing those two and not fighting the one I'll keep busy, do you really think we'll be able to get him down fast enough?"

"Good point," James said. "Why don't we wait til we have an opportunity to get off our own platforms and help out over on the north platform? Of course someone will have to stay behind to keep the djinns busy, but most of us are free to move."

"Alright. I think that's everything we can prepare for. The rest we'll just have to improvise," Gary replied. "Let's go."

Misty, Gary, and Starwisp rushed out to meet Rohash, the orange djinn, Lord of the East Wind, in combat. Ash and Thisalee accompanied them on the way over to the blue djinn Nazir, Lord of the North Wind. James, Jessie, Brock, and Kai went the other way to fight Anshal, Lord of the West Wind, the green djinn.

It all seemed fairly straightforward. Misty was easily able to endure Rohash's attacks, while the agile mage and huntress darted about, avoiding the weak cyclones that aimlessly wandered the platform. Ash and Thisalee were chilled to the bone by the cold air, and occasionally slipped on icy patches on the ground, but otherwise held up quite well. Anshal was a bit of a challenge, with his healing circles, and James was not used to 'kiting', as Starwisp called the technique (because it was very much like flying a giant, angry kite), but he tried to get the djinn to follow him out of the circles and did a passable job. Brock was as comfortable healing as dealing damage, as he was used to doing both at once and generally being more fluid and flexible about his role in the group than Misty was.

Things became a touch more challenging as the djinns revealed more of their abilities. Rohash created a wall of wind in front of him and turned slowly. The three adventurers had only to run around him and keep ahead of the wall to avoid being blown off the platform. Nazir kept Ash and Thisalee on their toes with a spell resembling Gary's cone of cold. Anshal summoned lashers with poison spores that they fired into the air around them, but Jessie and Kai quickly burnt them to crisps.

"It's too cold. I can't take this much longer!" Ash said.

"Hang in there!" Thisalee said. She took her bird form and flew at high speeds to Anshal's platform. "Ketchum needs to switch places with you. The cold is too much!" Even though she'd switched into her bird form just before leaving, ice crystals clung to her feathers.

"Right. James, let's head over there. Jessie, Kai, stay here. You too, Crow," Brock said.

"Thanks, Harrison."

The shaman informed Ash that he was to move to the warmer platform and join Thisalee, and the boy and his Pikachu quickly did as they were told. The fighting resumed smoothly.

Vaporeon found it difficult to fight in the windy environment, but pressed on. Her master was too busy trying to keep herself healed to fight back – her pokemon felt that she had to fight for her. Absol wasn't doing much good against the djinn, with his tornado base, but at least the pokemon was trying. The wind gave Aeroth some trouble, but the owl was fighting with all his might to control his flight path. Its master was faring much better. He had gotten completely into the rhythm of fighting, along with Starwisp, loosing arrows at his side.

Meanwhile, Meowth and Jessie had the same dynamic going – the caster and the archer fighting side by side. Kai, in his drake form, was mostly fighting with his breath weapon. It would do the best against the air elementals.

The lull that the adventurers expected hit the west and east platforms. Anshal cast a spell that increased his power and healed his allies – unfortunately, Jessie had just killed the last of them, so it did him no good. Ash and Thisalee were easily able to deal with it, so Jessie, Meowth, and Kai went to help out on Nazir's platform. On Rohash's platform, the djinn started casting a vortex. Gary and Starwisp immediately fled – it would be easier for Misty if she only had to worry about healing herself. Absol, vaporeon, and Aeroth followed after them, trying to stay out of the way.

Only then did they see the blizzard on the north platform. Surprisingly, it got better as more people arrived. The whole lot of them descended on Nazir like a storm, doing a great deal of damage. Soon the blizzard let up and everyone returned to their original platforms. Soon afterward, Brock and James switched places with Ash and Thisalee again.

Gary looked over his shoulder to see how things were going on the Anshal platform. "Let's pick it up, Starwisp. Looks like they're just about ready over there."

"On it."

"How you holding up, Misty?"

"I'm fine. Kill him please, my mana's getting stretched a bit thin."

On the other platform, Anshal was just about to collapse. A shadowbolt did him in, and the whole pack headed over to Nazir. Moments later, the mage and huntress took down their djinn and joined in, bringing the paladin with them. Nazir stood strong for a moment but before even a minute had passed, the combined might of Quel'Delar's Chosen brought him down.

"The Conclave of Wind has dissipated," Al'Akir said. The Elemental Lord of Air looked down at the adventurers. "Your honorable conduct and determination have earned you the right to face me in battle, mortals. I know what you seek, as well. I await your assault on my platform! Come! Earn the Stone of Strength!"


	90. Blessing of the Wolf

Quel'Delar's Chosen stood before Al'Akir, the great pale djinn in white armor and a turban. He stood in the middle of his platform, and the adventurers spread out around him in response to a chain lightning spell. Pikachu responded in kind, and the battle began. Thisalee, Pidge, and Aeroth flew around the sky lord's head, trying to distract and confuse him. The casters unleashed streams of magic. The fighters were relatively useless, though.

Al'Akir blasted them all off the platform with a wall of wind, then lifted them back up, toying with them. Ash felt utterly helpless. _Isn't there anything I can do?_ The wind tossed the helpless warrior about, then flung him and his companions back onto the platform. They scattered again, and the casters resumed their attack. Vaporeon and Pikachu continued their assault, but absol was helpless, and Meowth, like Starwisp, had minimal use.

'_My Chosen One',_ a voice boomed in Ash's head – the voice of Lo'Gosh! '_Do not doubt your strength. The Ancients are with you. I give you my blessing. Strike at my enemy! You are not alone!'_ Ash could have sworn he saw the wolf in the sky for a moment. Lightning crackled over his blades, and the weapons of all who fought Al'Akir.

A wall of dusty cyclones moved slowly around the platform like the hands of a clock. Getting into those would spell trouble, the warrior knew, and he looked for a way to avoid them without running in circles. He found a gap where the wind was weak, and braced himself where the gap would go – the wall went right past him. Then he charged, striking pure air with his imbued blades. "Lok'tar Lo'Gosh!" he shouted.

Al'Akir responded with an upgrade of his own. Little balls of lightning showed up and started attacking the raiders. "Absol! Go get the stormling things! Take them away from us and kill them if you can!" Gary commanded. His pokemon immediately obeyed, diverting the lightning balls. Acid rain began to pour down from above, burning the heroes.

"Okay, okay, no more fooling around, burn him down fast!" Jessie said. One of the lightning things met its end and surprisingly weakened Al'Akir. "Oh. Okay. That works."

XXX

The last sliver of the sun was slipping away, so the rogue dismissed the horse and continued on foot. At least he was out of undead territory, but that also meant he was now in the Alterac Mountains. It was a dangerous place, especially at night, and in a mild snowstorm to boot. It wouldn't be long until the transformation activated, which would offer some protection, at the very least.

"Your money or your life," someone said. Tracey spun around and whipped out a dagger, revealing himself just as much a rogue as them. They were Syndicate rogues – the enemies of Ravenholdt. "Oh, you're one of them, then." The bandits narrowed their eyes. "We'll be taking both, in that case. Get him, boys!"

The rogue blocked an attack by putting up his arm to stop the other man's wrist. Then he kicked him in the stomach and brought his dagger backwards to stab the second bandit behind him. "You picked the wrong man to mess with!" Tracey said, as he used his second dagger to parry a blow from the third bandit, but took the attack from the fourth – a blade in the shoulder.

The rogue felt the moonlight take effect, and howled menacingly. The worgen snarled and the Syndicate bandits backed away. The first one, braver than the others, had recovered from the attack and lunged again, only to have his chest ripped open by the terrible claws. At that point, the bandits retreated, running for dear life.

The rogue stood still as the wind howled through his snow-matted fur, breathing hard. "Scumbags. You're lucky I don't feel like hunting you down," he muttered, despite their being well out of earshot.

XXX

Lo'Gosh's blessing wasn't enough. Ash mentally cried out for Aviana's help too. Air was her domain, shouldn't she be able to help them here?

'_All the strength you need is in your heart. Seek it out. Trust it! Fly with me!_' he heard her say. "Fly!" Wait, he'd heard that last word out loud!

The warrior opened his eyes. He felt light as a feather. So did the others, who stopped for a moment, wondering what was going on. They all had ethereal wings now, even the pokemon. And it was just in time, too. Al'Akir smashed the platform they stood on. Aviana was with them, if only in spirit, and granting them access to her domain – the sky.

They hovered where the platform had been. Al'Akir was growing angry. A tornado formed around them, trapping them in the eye of the storm. The wind lord spread a sheet of clouds across all of the adventurers, who moved up to get out of it so they could see – just in time; the clouds unleashed a web of lightning.

Coordinating their attack so they all flew at the same altitude and moved slowly up so as not to be trapped, the heroes whittled away at Al'Akir. Finally, he dissipated into the wind. "No…!"

A small gem gleamed as it fell from where his turban had been. Ash dove down to grab it, and the whole group went to the nearest platform to land and take a good look at it.

It was both familiar and unlike any gem they'd ever seen. It was clearly a thunderstone, of the highest quality, but it was not like thunderstones they'd seen before. The green gem with the gold lightning bolt was cut and polished into a rectangle, and shimmered with a strange emerald glow – faint little globes of fuzzy light danced slowly around it, not unlike the fairy lights on a night elf moonwell, but much dimmer.

And it fit perfectly into the rectangular socket in the middle of Ash's lightning bolt pendant.


	91. Waterflower

Gary called for Teladormi to come transport them to the next elemental plane.

"Well done!" she said. "Next, I'm supposed to take you to the Abyssal Maw – the Plane of Water. Your paladin should fit right in." The bronze dragoness mass teleported the group to the Throne of the Tides. "This place is ruled by the Elemental Lord, Neptulon. He is under siege by the naga. I'm sure if you were to help him fend them off, he would give you the stone you seek as a reward. Good luck." The woman vanished.

Misty looked very happy with her surroundings. "Whoa… I wish I could live in a place like this." She stared around in awe at the sea castle. Though it was filled with air, it was still clearly a watery place. The ground was covered in soft, fine sand, and the tunnels and halls looked like undersea caverns that had simply had arches and other decorations carved into the natural structures. Brightly colored corals and rich green seaweed stuck to the walls and grew in the corners, and huge glowing pearls lit the area softly. Most impressive were the water walls – simple holes in the stone tunnels that looked out into the endless ocean of the Abyssal Maw, the water held back seemingly by an invisible, shifting force field. The water windows shimmered and waved like the surface of a lake, despite being curved and almost vertical. The arches and the edges of the floor were decorated with gold that shimmered in the refracted light. The whole place smelled strongly of salt and kelp and mud.

Unfortunately whatever force kept the water out didn't keep anything else from passing through the windows. Naga were able to swim right out and drop into the tunnels. Naturally, the paladin charged first, her pokemon following at her heels. Surprisingly, vaporeon's attacks were visibly stronger here. The heroes then realized that Pikachu had been stronger in the Plane of Air, but none had noticed because it had no visual effect. Here, they could see that the pokemon's water gun was more powerful, knocking the naga backwards. It was no contest – they'd just taken down an Elemental Lord. What chance did these naga have?

XXX

"That's wonderful news, Tracey. Creed was not the most powerful of the remaining black dragons, but his manipulation of the Gilneans was truly diabolical," Wrathion said. "I've prepared a reward for you. These blades may not look like much at present, but in the right hands they may yet awaken. Perhaps, in your hands…" He grinned darkly and gestured with his hand to a small pillow on the table. On the pillow were two daggers, daggers the rogue did not like the look of.

They were wickedly curved, black, with horned skulls connecting the blades to the handles. Just in front of each skull was a nearly-closed black eye with a tiny slit of red visible between the lids – slits that watched the worgen's every move.

"They are called Fear and Vengeance. They are but lifeless shells. They can do great things, though, once they are given a means to contain the power I have in mind. I need for you to acquire Shadowy Gems for me. The facets of these unusual stones are like windows into the infinite. They are often used by minions of the Twilight's Hammer to control the most powerful of elementals."

"Where will I find them?" Tracey asked suspiciously, not sure he wanted anything to do with these evil-looking daggers.

"I would recommend the area surrounding the Twilight Bastion."

XXX

"Whoa…" the mage muttered, staring up at the incredible elevator shaft. It was really nothing more than a column of the anti-water shield all around, allowing a full view of the reef beyond – and the giant monster Ozumat, patiently waiting outside. He didn't seem particularly aggressive for a kraken, so the adventurers weren't too worried about him. In fact, he seemed to be asleep.

They walked onto a platform of water and waited, trying to figure out how to get up the shaft. Much to their surprise, a giant jellyfish lifted them up and carried them. How it was swimming through air or why was of no concern – clearly being an elevator (or jellevator as Gary dubbed it) was its entire purpose.

The jellyfish took them to a new corridor, this one more artificial, with elegant columns and statues of fishes and seahorses lining its walls. A second glance revealed the columns to be water held in place with the same strange magic as the walls. Despite the naga attacks, Quel'Delar's Chosen were really much more interested in examining their surroundings than fighting, and at this point they were skilled enough that they _could_ fight without really paying full attention, so on they went, chopping down naga and murlocs while admiring the scenery.

They finally paid attention when they came across someone who might actually be a challenge – a female, snake haired naga. The fight went smoothly until she put up a shield and called for help. This was probably for the best – it rattled Quel'Delar's Chosen back into having to actually coordinate and cooperate instead of just beating down anything that moved.

"Starwisp, see if you can't freeze that caster on the left; I'll take the one on the right; everyone else burn the big guy down!" Gary ordered, polymorphing his designated target. Starwisp tossed an ice trap, Frisbee style, right into the caster, immediately locking her in a block of ice.

"Watch out for those water cyclones," Thisalee warned, rushing to get out of the way of a spinning column of water that the central naga had summoned.

The strong naga fell, and the casters were cut down one at a time before the heroes turned their attention back to the leader. Now back into the rhythm of the fight, they easily beat her down.

"What's this do?" Jessie asked, examining a strange machine. Nobody else could figure it out, so she weighed her options. Finally, she shrugged and pushed the big blue button. Everyone jumped as the sound of electricity roared through the caverns. Lightning bolts coursed through the halls and around the tunnels. The kraken spasmed wildly outside and swam away, unplugging places his tentacles had been wrapped around. The lightning stopped.

"Well. Okay then," James said. "Carry on, I guess."

Misty let out a small shriek when she turned around to go back out into the main hall. Somehow, a Faceless One had gotten in. "Guys, we have company!"

Ash charged headlong into combat without any thought given to strategy, something that would quickly come back to bite him. The fighting began as normal, but as the Faceless began to drop void zones, which expanded, simply finding a safe place to stand became a challenge. People stood in and ran through the harmful zones, putting Misty under a lot of stress as she tried to keep her healing up. The floor was becoming covered in black pools.

Meowth, in his desperation, suggested something that he never would have done otherwise. "Everyone get in da water!" He made a mad dash through the void zones into the pool in the middle of the room. Sanctuary. Wet, but safe – for the time being. Ash kept the monster chasing after him around the edge of the room, but there was little room for him to run anymore. The black zones were encroaching on the pond, too.

Gary's mind was racing. This was a disaster! What had happened to the trademark Quel'Delar's Chosen coordination? Sure, they made their plans up as they went, but things didn't fall apart like this! The mage caught sight of an open door. Perhaps the hallway was their way out? No, that would probably lead them to an ambush of some kind. Better to stay where they were.

They continued the fight, packing into the increasingly small space in the middle of the room, as Ash ended up wading through void zones. "This isn't working!" Misty said. "I'm going to fall behind soon; we've got to try something else!"

"Okay, everyone out into the halls. Didn't want to resort to this, but we can just drag him down the corridor if we have to. Go!" The mage blinked out and ran, and the others followed. Misty tried to keep all of them up, but it was extremely difficult. Ash was the last out, kiting the monster along behind him. It wouldn't be long before they ran out of hallway to run through, but it gave them a little more time – and it was just what they needed. The Faceless One fell halfway down the hall, and Quel'Delar's Chosen collapsed to rest.

XXX

After their first encounter with the combination of Faceless Ones and gilgoblins, the heroes were not too keen on fighting a large number of them. Yet, ahead of them lay the absolute worst setup they could have imagined they'd run into. Twice the gilgoblins, and two of the incredibly annoying Faceless Ones.

"Uh… hm." Ash tried to think his way through how he would survive this. The last set was difficult as it was. "Okay, um. I don't think there's gonna be any way to split them up. Polymorphing and freezing will accomplish pretty much nothing, so it looks like I'm going to have to just… sit through the pain."

"So, everyone just unload everything you've got. I'm going to try a new spell," Brock said. "Should make us all much more powerful for a few seconds."

James blew a warhorn, a tactic employed by death knights everywhere – the magical horn would strengthen his friends with its sound. Brock cast his new spell, imbuing his friends with heroism and bloodlust through the power of the elements. Gary increased his damage output by summoning up shimmering mirages, three images that one might almost mistake for the mage himself out of the corner of their eye, but hardly visible when looked at directly. All of them cast fireballs.

Of course, Misty knew that things were going to get chaotic, and steeled herself for heavy duty healing. Wings of light appeared on her back as she called for aid from the Holy Light. Much to her surprise, a guardian arrived – an armored angel made of pure Light. It was there to help her heal. "Okay go!"

Ash let out a battle cry and charged. _This is going to suck,_ was his only thought.

The sounds of combat drowned all else out. Gilgoblins swarmed over the warrior, keeping the healer on her toes. Lightning and fire coursed through the crowds of little fiends. Frost and moonfire struck individuals down one at a time, but the swarm was thick enough that it seemed to do very little.

Pikachu ran into the middle of the fray and acted as a lightning bomb. The vaporeon backed this attack, blasting the monsters with water. Absol went into a blood frenzy, shredding flesh with claw and tooth. Aeroth dove down, talons extended, and Pidge breathed fire over the swarm.

The fight lasted only seconds but seemed to go on forever, a struggle even for Quel'Delar's Chosen. And when it was over they had no time to rest, because the Faceless Ones were onto them. They simply tried to burn them down as fast as possible.

"Focus on the one on the left!" Gary ordered, picking one at random. Splitting their attacks would do little good. They needed to get one down as quickly as they could, so ignoring one and attacking the other was the best they could do.

They could feel their strength running out and their mana getting low, but they were so close! A Faceless One fell as Ash slashed its leg open. Everyone fell in on the last monster and they were able to barely pull off a victory. Breathing hard, they stopped to regain their strength. Things were getting difficult. Could they even handle the next few opponents, let alone the next plane?


	92. Two Down

The sight before them was more a blow to their morale than their strength. Erunak, the broken one who had rescued them in Vashj'ir, stood before them, under the control of one of the Old Gods' minions – a Cyclops squid for lack of a better term. It had latched onto his head and was controlling his mind. He charged forward and began casting lava bolts at them.

Quel'Delar's Chosen attacked cautiously, trying to only hit the thing on his head. Starwisp and Meowth lingered behind – there was too much chance of their arrows piercing straight into Erunak's head. They merely waited for it to fall off, ready to hit it as soon as they could do so without hurting the hostage.

Erunak gasped as the thing came off his head. "Thank you, friends. Forgive me… I'm too weak to be of any assistance."

"A new host must be found," the creature said, floating away. The archers unleashed everything they'd held back before, doing considerable damage. Unfortunately, it managed to latch onto James before they could kill it. The death knight started attacking his allies.

"Get off of him!" Jessie growled, focusing her rage on the beast. Seeing her as a threat, the monster directed James to attack her in particular. Naturally, he was much stronger than the caster, and did considerable damage.

"Ash, get him off of her!" Misty said. "I can't heal her through that onslaught!"

Before he had a chance, the thing popped off and started using psychic attacks. It tried to shield itself from magic, but Gary simply stole that spell. Now weak, the monster was easily slain before it could do much to them.

"Will you come with us, Erunak? We still owe you for saving us before," Misty said.

He shook his head. "I am weary. I must regain my strength. Continue without me."

"You need a port back to Stormwind?" Gary offered, but the broken shook his head again. "Alright. Good luck, I guess."

XXX

Having fought their way through a small gauntlet of water elementals, the heroes arrived in Neptulon's chamber. It was little more than a dome of water. The circular chamber was richly decorated with corals and all sorts of brightly colored underwater objects, adorning looping slate-blue stone arches.

The Lord of Water stood before them, a raging vortex of seawater from the waist down, a scaly sea-green man above. In place of hair, he had tentacles, and around his neck he wore a chain, which was wrapped around a tiny, glimmering blue gem – a water stone cut into a multifaceted teardrop shape. It looked like a speck compared to the giant creature it was attached to.

"Ah, my fearless assistants, I presume. You may yet regret your presence here," the elemental said.

"I doubt it, Lord Neptulon," the paladin said. "We've gotten into all sorts of bad situations and never regretted any one more than the others. We're here to help."

"Very well. The beast has been driven off, but my precious waters have been tainted. I must cleanse them at once! Prepare to defend yourselves from any attackers that will surely be stirred as I purify these waters." He raised the necklace up high and started chanting quietly.

Sure enough, murlocs and Faceless Ones began to pour in. Ash and James immediately set about keeping the Faceless busy while Gary and Jessie mowed down the murlocs with area spells. Everyone else focused on beating down the more powerful attackers. Unfortunately, it was a mere diversion.

"Augh! Their filthiness stains me!" Neptulon shouted in disgust.

"Hurry, get em down quick!" Jessie urged. As the few remaining distractions died, the heroes rushed into battle again. This time, four Faceless Ones were channeling spells into Neptulon, and hideous, deformed beasts with misshapen limbs and tentacles and mouths full of teeth crawled all over.

"They have an aura," Thisalee said, "keep them away from us!"

"On it," Ash replied immediately. He provoked them into chasing him around the room.

"Everyone, we're moving clockwise, starting on this one!" Brock announced, casting an earth shock on the Faceless in front of them. The rest of the team fell in on it. There was yet another twist in store, as the monster, Ozumat, returned, and began spitting some sort of corrosive ink-like substance onto the ground.

"This could get ugly. We've got to get this done fast. Hang in there, Neptulon!" Starwisp said.

They rushed from one monster to the next, felling them quietly and efficiently.

The purification ritual was done. "Behold the power of pure water!" the Elemental Lord shouted. Strength infused all of them.

_'Water isn't the only thing you have on your side,_' something whispered to Misty. '_I am here too. The spirit of life is with you!_' Aessina had granted them her blessing. With these powers combined, Quel'Delar's Chosen could stand against Ozumat. Arrows flew, and even when passing the water barrier, continued straight into their target, guided by magic. Spells doubled or even tripled in power. Even so, it was a race against time as the ground filled up with increasingly potent black gunk. Neptulon tried to remove it as the heroes fought the great kraken, but all he could do was keep up with its new applications of the goop.

The paladin threw a hammer of light at her target, striking it right in the eye. It moaned and swam away into the depths. Moments later, the Tidehunter finished cleaning up the mess.

"Thank you, heroes. As scattered as they now are, my minions will be able to dispatch the last of them. You clearly came here to seek something. What is it in my realm that you desire?"

Misty stepped forward and looked up at the giant elemental. She held out her necklace. "We've come to retrieve the Stone of Desire. We need it to prevent the destruction of the world."

"You've prevented the destruction of mine, so I shall do the same for yours. Little mortal, your heart is strong. You've earned this. I trust you will use it for good." He unwrapped the gem and lowered a massive hand. The tiny water stone sat on the tip of his finger, sparkling and glowing with what seemed to be very faint red will-o-wisps. Misty carefully took it from him and placed it into the socket in her necklace.

"We will. Thank you."

"Best of luck to you, mortals. Farewell."


	93. Baby's First Kill

There was quite a bit of grumbling as Teladormi transported Quel'Delar's Chosen to Deepholm.

"Hopefully, we won't be here long," Jessie said. "Hopefully, our earlier deeds will have convinced the Stonemother to just hand the gem over nicely and we can be on our way."

"Don't jinx it," James said. "Let Brock do the talking."

"You. Why have you returned?" Therazane asked, clearly displeased by the presence of the mortals.

"Great Stonemother," the shaman said, bowing, "we've come to recover an artifact. Just a small one."

"You and your greed. I knew you would be back – unsatisfied with what you'd already gotten. I knew you'd eventually want more. You mortals are all the same that way."

"Believe me, we're reluctant to come get it," Gary said. Misty shushed him and elbowed him in the ribs.

"It's not so much 'want' as 'need'," Brock explained. "We need the Stone of Patience. If possible, we'll return it when we're done with it – though I'm not sure we'll be able to."

"What exactly do you plan to do with the stone, shaman?"

Brock opened his mouth to reply but realized he didn't know. "Uh. I…"

"Look, we've been sent here by the Aspect of Time. He's the brains of the operation, not us. He told us we needed to get it so we're here to get it. That's all we know."

Therazane stared for a long time at the pendant around Brock's neck. "You may take it…" A general sigh of relief filled the air. "… If you can retrieve it."

"What?" Ash asked.

"The last Twilight holdout is in the Stonecore. Unfortunately, a puny mortal even smaller than you took the stone and ran with it. This will benefit both of us – I no longer have to deal with the cult, and you get your treasure. Invade the Stonecore, wipe out the enemy, take your stone, and leave."

"Thank you, Stonemother," the shaman said.

The heroes left to travel through the cold cavern to the Stonecore.

"Oh, it can never be easy, can it?" Kai asked.

"I told you not to jinx it," James muttered, looking sideways at his warlock companion.

XXX

"There he is! Get him!" Thisalee shouted.

"Ah! It's you!" the gnome yelped. The little cultist with blue hair hardly looked threatening, especially panicking as he was. He knew who Quel'Delar's Chosen were – they were infamous among the cultists for ruining just about everything. He knew bad news when he saw it, and he took off. "You're too late! She already has it! I know what you're after and you won't have it! Fight us for it if you dare, but don't say I didn't warn you!" he shouted as he ran away.

They chased the gnome down the hall, destroying anything that stood in their way, and occasionally beating on the cultist himself before he got a chance to get away from them. He did eventually stop running, and started casting an ominous-looking spell.

"Now… Witness the full power of Millhouse Manastorm! You will not live to-" The gnome was interrupted by a large explosion, and screamed loudly as he was blasted off the edge of the cliff and into the distance. The dust cleared to reveal the source of the explosion – a gyreworm had burst through the wall, and it looked quite aggressive.

XXX

The rogue's infiltration of the Twilight Bastion was causing utter chaos. Nobody could find the intruder, and cultists were dropping like flies. As long as Tracey could stay hidden in the shadows he had nothing to worry about. His pursuers were loud, so that helped too – he could easily avoid the two bickering dragons. Valiona and Theralion were almost too busy arguing with each other to even try to find him, although from what he could gather, the female was mostly bossing the male around, and he was just coming up with stupid excuses to not do what she told him to. _It is scary how much these two remind me of Jessie and James. It's like Team Rocket in dragon form. If only they were here to see this_, the rogue thought, amused, as he continued stepping in and out of the shadows and winding corridors to silently dispatch his foes. He already had several shadow gems in his pockets, and many more awaited him.

XXX

Onix thrived in the gyreworm tunnels – really, they weren't too different: giant serpents made of linked stones, although the pokemon was slightly bigger than the average stonecore gyreworm. The humanoid adventurers just lagged behind and let the large rock pokemon fight its way through the tunnels, accepting occasional healing from the paladin.

"Why can't every raid be this easy?" Gary asked.

"Shh, don't jinx it," Misty said.

Onix paused. "What's the matter?" Brock asked, going ahead of the group to see what had spooked his pokemon. "Oh. Looks like we have yet another dragon to slay."

"James. I've been thinking. Maybe it's time we dropped our life of crime in favor of being professional dragonslayers." It was impossible to tell if Jessie was being sarcastic or not.

Kai stuck his head out the end of the tunnel to get a look at his opponent. "Oh, just a drake. He's small. I'm going to go try to coax him down from the sky. You guys just try to find a good place to fight him."

"Sounds like a plan," the mage agreed.

The two drakes wheeled through the air and screeched as they chased after one another, spitting fire and rough sand. The stone dragon simply smashed into stalactites as he went, causing them to drop down onto the path below, much to the dismay of the adventurers running along it.

"Oh god, it's Rimefang all over again!" Ash said, dodging a falling shard of rock.

"Is everyone through?" Gary asked, quickly checking the group. "Okay, Kai! Bring him down, we're ready!"

A few minutes later the dragons crashed into the large circular clearing the heroes had found, snarling viciously. Slabhide pinned Kai down on his back and slashed him across the face. The black dragon howled and responded with a blast of fire. Slabhide shook his head and flinched but didn't release his foe. He tried to attack again, but Kai caught his rival's claw in his jaws.

A magma bolt caused the stone dragon to lose his footing for a moment; Kai rolled over and made a break for it. As Slabhide lunged with crystal teeth, the black drake swung his tail, smacking the club at the end into the other drake's face. He spun to face him and the two dragons clawed and dodged and bit at one another while the heroes did their best to bring down the stone beast.

Brock was about to order his pokemon into the fray when Slabhide managed to smash Kai into the ground, sending a shock up the stone pillars and snapping stalactites off the ceiling, barely missing several of Quel'Delar's Chosen. There was little room for the onix to maneuver now.

"Let's see how you like it," the shaman said, casting earth shock. Slabhide cried out as a spear of stone pierced his belly. He responded with a blast of sand but Misty managed to heal her friend through it. Then Brock cast a powerful earthquake spell, splitting the ground and shaking the dragons about until Slabhide lost his footing and fell to the ground. The casters all channeled fire and ice into the drake at once, killing him with the temperature shock.

"We'd best get moving," Thisalee said. "I can't help but notice the ground below us is about to collapse."

The others looked down as she turned into a bird, and noticed that she was correct – the stone platform was cracking and falling apart. Quel'Delar's Chosen ran for their lives. Unfortunately, they ran right into a guard.

The orc woman took off running, going to warn the other cultists. Tori had other ideas. The red whelp bounded after her, flapped her wings to jump onto the cultist's back, and climbed onto her shoulder. The cultist tried to swat her off but the whelp sank her teeth into the sentry's throat, silencing her and distracting her long enough for Misty to strike the orc down with a holy shock.


	94. Elementium Wings

Without their sentry to warn them, the Twilight Cult was unable to prepare for the sudden attack and was easily cut down. They were but a minor obstacle on the path to the next challenge – an insane stone giant, Ozruk. At least, with his seeming lack of allegiance to Therazane, the mortals assumed he was insane, and quickly decided to put him out of his misery before he murdered them all. It wasn't really much of a choice, given that he tried to smash James almost immediately.

Brock had called his pokemon back while the group tried to move through smaller tunnels, but now they had room – and need – for the onix's assistance. The massive pokemon was able to match Ozruk for power and size, and presented a formidable opponent for the giant. The stone giant grabbed the rock snake's neck and tried to wrestle with it. Both of them put all their strength into fighting one another.

"Now! Go, go!" Brock shouted, casting an earth shock. The others followed his command, leaping into combat. Frost swirled as the death knight sought revenge for the attempted attack he'd been subjected to. Vaporeon unleashed her hydro pump on the stone monster as her master focused on keeping the onix healed. Gary decided to use frostfire bolts against this foe, cracking stone. Ash took advantage of this to use thunder magic with pikachu's help to enhance his basic attacks and blast the little cracks into craters.

It was not enough. The rock snake pokemon was slipping, struggling against the giant. Ozruk bashed its head into a wall, and the creature let out a moan of pain.

"Hang in there, onix," Brock muttered.

_'You need… my strength. I will grant you… the protection… of my shell. It will… bolster… your defenses. May it serve you well…_' a slow voice told him. Light shimmered over the onix's body, giving a glimpse of a tortoise-shell texture. The turtle Ancient's resilience was with them.

Its strength renewed, the pokemon felt fighting spirit well up within. Giving a roar, the onix pushed forward, causing Ozruk to stumble back. It wrapped its tail slightly around a boulder, shoving it forward and then smacking it to launch it into the giant. The blow nearly toppled the stone giant!

Brock took his ghost wolf form and ran toward the giant, still trying to regain its balance. The spirit wolf leapt up various stones and launched himself onto the monster's chest, before retaking his human form. With a shout, the shaman smashed his warhammer into Ozruk and causing a wave of crumbling and vibrating stone to radiate out from the site of the blow. The earthquake spell started to tear the giant apart, and onix lunged to grab its trainer in its mouth before the giant collapsed under – or worse, onto – him. From his place, dangling by the back of his robe from his pokemon's mouth, Brock saw the effects of his spell as the monster fell into a pile of rubble.

"I hope we can get out of here soon," Thisalee commented. "This place is smothering me."

"I know what you mean," Starwisp said.

"You're both so in tune with birds," Ash observed. "It's really no wonder you feel smothered in the Earth plane. Birds are creatures of the air."

"That was the most bizarre mix of obvious and insightful statements," Gary commented. "I'm not sure whether to be impressed or say 'no shit, sherlock'."

"Stop bickering and look for the cultist we need to murder to get out of this dump," Jessie said.

"I'd prefer if we didn't refer to it as murder… This is a war, it's not the same…" Misty said quietly.

"What's the difference? We're killing things and people," the warlock said.

"Jessie, please don't raise moral quandaries while we're on a quest," Brock said. "Look, there she is! She looks like she must be the High Priestess." The shaman pointed to a pale woman with black hair in a dark purple robe. She had black tattoos on her face and looked, from the gleam in her eyes, like she was absolutely out of her mind.

"The world will be reborn in flames!" High Priestess Azil shrieked, laughing madly.

"Maybe we should do a small scale test of that theory," Gary said. "Say, seeing if _you're_ reborn in flames. I'll handle the killing with fire part, you can see about the rebirth."

Ash charged into combat, trying to strike down the caster. Surely she wouldn't be any tougher in hand-to-hand combat than Gary was – that is to say, about as durable as wet tissue paper. He was wrong; dark magic protected her like proper armor. His attacks could barely cut through her cloth robe. She laughed at his efforts and force-gripped him into the air, much like James had done so many times before. The young Kantoan warrior struggled against the magical grip and tried to fight back anyway.

"That's hardly fair," Gary said, interrupting the spell. Ash dropped to the floor and immediately charged at Azil. She blocked the attack with her staff and strengthened her shield, turning it into a visible dark bubble. An arrow bounced off her dark shield as she used her staff to fling Ash against a wall.

"Now, Pidge! Elementium Wings time!" Thisalee shouted, taking her bird form. Pidge, the flaming pidgeotto, let out a shriek as his wing-fire froze in place and turned to silvery metal. Thisalee focused on forming a druidic connection with him and let the tips of her feathers turn to elementium, helped in part by her shapeshifting abilities. The two birds dove down, slicing through Azil's magic shield with their bladed wings. Jessie threw a chaos bolt at the same time James cast death coil – their dark magics coiled together for a powerful strike through the opening.

"Witness the power bestowed upon me by Deathwing! Feel the power of the earth!" the High Priestess shouted, summoning a giant boulder and using magic to launch it at the heroes. Kai darted in front of his friends and turned his head away, bracing his shoulder. He cried out in pain as the boulder slammed into him, but he was a black dragon, a creature of the earth. He was able to use what little earth-shaping power his kind had left to diffuse some of the attack's strength.

Azil force-gripped Ash again and cast a gravity well down at Starwisp's feet. The night elf struggled to pull herself away from the purple circle and get out of the intense pain. High Priestess Azil called for aid and her followers blindly responded, not allowing obstacles to get in the way – a couple fell to the gravity well. Absol went nuts, tearing out throats left and right, as the casters called down a rain of ice and fire.

"Hey, over here!" Thisalee taunted. She made a face at Azil and stuck out her tongue. "Nyeh!" It was remarkably immature, but it worked. She was able to bait the cultist into putting gravity wells exactly where she wanted them. The druid kept at this until she'd made a small wall of the things. When the next group of cultists came along, they put their faith in their dark masters to protect them from the wells, and attempted to simply walk through them. It didn't work.

That distraction out of the way, the heroes could focus all their attention on Azil. A few more cycles of shielding, boulders, and fighting occurred, but eventually Quel'Delar's Chosen triumphed.

"Here it is," Brock said. The stone was a remarkably small and shiny leaf stone, polished into a soft-edged square. It had been attached to the neckline of the cultist's robe. Brock easily removed it and put it back into its socket. "One left."

"Okay, good, let's get out of here," Thisalee snapped. "I hate this place."


	95. Revenge is a Dish Best Served Fried

The dragoness dropped the heroes off in the Firelands, where battle was already raging. The forces of Hyjal defended their base – a solitary tree, a lone speck of green in a sea of crimson, orange, and gold. Malfurion Stormrage stood at the top of the hill, looking down on the chaos. Gary started forward without a word, so the others had no choice but to follow. The mage tapped the druid on the shoulder, and he turned to see who was there.

"Quel'Delar's Chosen are here. Kanto lends you its blades." Gary smiled, and Malfurion did the same, looking relieved.

"We've been begging Elune to send something to tip the balance in our favor. It looks like she's answered."

"Where are the other Druids of the Talon?" Thisalee asked.

"Sadly, Omnuron refused to send forces through the portal."

"We'll see what we can do," Misty said. "Come on. If the forces here are having such trouble, we'll need all the help we can get."

XXX

Gary left the room where Ash and Omnuron were still arguing. The others – who had each done what they could before getting out of the way – looked to him expectantly. The mage simply shrugged, and told them he tried his best and could only hope that Ash could tip the balance. Morale sank immediately. _Gary_ had failed at diplomacy? He was the most persuasive among them! What hope did Ash have?

"Don't look so down," he assured his friends. "I have faith in Ash. He understands how these druids think. If anyone can talk them into joining, it's him." He smiled apologetically. "I've known him my whole life. There were times I wouldn't admit it, but I know this about us: where one fails, the other will surely succeed. Between the two of us, there is nothing we cannot achieve."

The waiting was painfully long. What were they saying back there? Finally, Omnuron and Ash returned. Every being present held their breath, pokemon included.

"I have made my decision. We leave for the Molten Front at once," the druid said.

"Did I hear that right? We're going to join?" Thisalee asked, standing up.

"Yes, Thisalee. Gather our forces."

"Oh, _Ash!_ You've outdone yourself, you really have!" the elf exclaimed, running over to the warrior, grabbing him, and kissing him once on each cheek, and again on the forehead. He blushed.

"You… called me Ash."

Thisalee cleared her throat and attempted to regain her dignity. "Uh… So I did. Yes." A grin spread across Ash's face, and he laughed, which of course spread back to the night elf. Thisalee's grin then turned wicked. "Let's go kill some baddies."

"I'm with ya."

XXX

Wrathion held up the shadow gems. "Ah, see how they sparkle? Many gems shimmer in light, but only these do so in shadow. The gems you collected will be able to augment the power of the weapons I gave you, but I require another ingredient. It will come from your next target."

Fahrad pointed to the maps on the table. "We've just located her here, in the caverns beneath Karazhan. Fearful for her life, she is researching arcane secrets buried beneath the foundation."

"Her name is Nalice. And until recently she stood at Wyrmrest Temple as the representative of the black dragonflight. Now? She's on the run. She's surrounded herself with a small army of deranged dragon cultists. They may not by right in the head, but they're well-armed. And dangerous. I hope to see you back from this mission alive, Tracey. But if I do not, I want to say I've enjoyed seeing you work. You´re a credit to your race. To all of your homeworld, in fact. Good luck."

XXX

Quel'Delar's Chosen reentered the Firelands just in time. Leyara, the Druid of Flame that had so angered Gary with her misuse of fire and attack on Hamuul, was fighting with the defenders, as most of the force was caught up with elementals.

She was calm, despite her boiling rage. "You've proven very persistent. Annoyingly so. It is time to be rid of you." She killed one of the defenders with a fire spell. "Here there is only fire, brimstone, and death." Another defender fell. "All that awaits you is nothingness. Emptiness." Another. "They will abandon you when you need them most. They will leave you to burn." Yet another died at her hands. "You know nothing of power. You cling to your allies in desperation, but they cannot save you."

Malfurion Stormrage protested. "Leyara, you must see that Fandral is beyond redemption. The corruption within him runs deeper than you know."

"Fandral was a true leader! You are nothing more than a desperate dream. You haven't the strength to lead anyone."

The fiery roots that had trapped the heroes so long ago now wound around Malfurion, as Leyara noticed the presence of Quel'Delar's Chosen.

"I have more power than you'll ever know, Malfurion. I'll kill your companion just like I killed Hamuul. And there is nothing you can do about it."

"You never killed Hamuul. He still lives. You have once again misunderstood the will of the flame," Gary said.

"Don't lie to me, little boy! You know nothing of what true fire is! All you know are your naïve little games. You do little more than play with matches! I am a forest fire!"

Gary snapped. "I am Gary Oak, the most powerful magus Kanto has ever seen! You know nothing of what I do!"

"Kanto must be the land of weaklings, then! Weak and naïve little children like you can't understand the way the world works! You're not even half a century old; how much can you possibly have seen? You're a little fool, 'Magus' Gary. You wish to prove me wrong?"

"I'll prove you wrong a thousand times over!" he shouted. "You'll pay for all the suffering you've caused us! _You'll see what true power is!_" His own friends backed away in fear as his eyes began to glow bright orange. Gary drew his strength from the elemental energy around him and his own burning rage. _"I'll do to you what you did to Hamuul, but I'll __**do it right and**__** finish the job!**_" Without warning he started casting a spell not unlike the one Leyara had used on the Archdruid. She screamed in agony, but Gary did not relent. "_**Burn, druid! **__**Burn!**_" He cackled madly as his allies looked on in terror – what had gotten into him? "_**How does that feel? You like it? Have you had enough?**_" Leyara begged for mercy. "_**Mercy? Like you showed Hamuul? Who do you think you are?**_"

Misty ran forward and grabbed Gary's arm. "_Gary! Stop! __**Gary!**_" He turned to her, baring his teeth, eyes still glowing, and tried to pull away from her grasp.

"_**No!**_"

She smacked him across the face. "_What do you think you're doing?! You're doing the same thing she did!_"

"_**Let go! She deserves it!**_"

Misty hit him again, harder. His flames faltered and Leyara was left trembling and moaning on the ground.

"_**I said let go!**_"

"_**I said stop! Look at what you're doing, Gary! You're acting like a monster! Look at what you're becoming!**_" Misty screamed at him.

Gary just stood there, breathing hard through gritted teeth, clenching his fists.

"_Stop, __please!_" the paladin repeated, as upset and frightened as she was angry. The mage's eyes slowly lost their glow and his expression shifted from rage to horror. His face went pale as he glanced down at Leyara, quivering and whimpering on the ground. James walked over and put his blade through her heart to put her out of her misery.

Gary looked at his hands in shock and mouthed the words '_my god…_' silently.

"My god, Gary, what just got into you? You were terrifying!" Ash asked, still looking absolutely horrified and pale. The mage just looked at him with an expression of mixed guilt and fear and shook his head.

"I have no idea…" he whispered. He looked at his hands again. "Was… that really… _me_?"

"I don't know…" Misty whispered. "I hope to god it wasn't."

"And I called Tracey a monster…" Gary mumbled, immediately thinking of the rogue's curse: a dangerous, bloodthirsty monster hidden in a friendly human being, unleashed without warning. Was he really so different?


	96. Waltz With Death

_Author's Note: If you're wondering why I skip bosses, it's because they're simply not relevant in any way. They'd just be 'so and so cast such and such, boss fell over' type fights – boring. BttF does not need pointless padding at this point, so I've opted to simply skip over anything that holds no relevance. I hope this doesn't bother you._

Quel'Delar's Chosen pressed on, weary and solemn, through the Firelands. Beth'tilac, Shannox, and Lord Rhyolith had all fallen swiftly to the invaders' might, and all throughout not a peep was heard from Gary. In fact, the entire group was much quieter than normal. Though the horrors of Northrend had been far worse than anything they'd seen this time around, the psychological effects of prolonged war were getting to them much more than they had the previous year. They continued only because they knew no other way.

Now they approached the lair of Alysrazor – the firehawk that had escaped them in Hyjal, the once-dragon that had betrayed them. As they walked into the circle of stone, they heard a voice behind them.

"Well, well, well. What have we here – visitors to our kingdom in the Firelands?" The heroes turned to see Fandral Staghelm. "You mortals may remember Alysra, who spirited me to freedom in Mount Hyjal. She, too has been reborn. Born of flame! I wish I could watch her reduce your pitiful band to cinders, but I am needed elsewhere. Farewell!" He took the form of a firehawk and retreated.

"Yeah, you better fly away!" Gary shouted, speaking for the first time since his outburst. He shook his fist at the flame hawk and muttered, "Asshole," followed by a few choice profanities.

"We'll get him," Jessie assured him. "I want him dead as much as you do."

"You!" the firehawk behind them hissed. They spun to face the hovering beast. "I remember you! Face my new power!" She charged at them and they scattered, not expecting the fight to begin so soon. Molten feathers fell off her wings.

"I have an idea!" Thisalee shouted. It was very difficult to fly in the Firelands, even for a small druid in bird form, but Pidge and the firehawks could fly just fine. Clearly, wings of fire were what allowed flight here. The druid took her crow form and hopped over to the fire feathers, then picked them up in her beak and stuffed them into her own wings. It hurt, yes, but it did what it was supposed to – allowed her to lift off the ground and soar as normal. Starwisp took the idea and gathered the feathers as well.

"Sorry Aeroth, this is kind of necessary," she said, stuffing the feathers onto her owl's wings, much to his distress. Kai looked on, wondering how he could apply the same to his own wings in dragon form. There was nowhere to stuff the feathers into. He didn't have to worry about it though, because Gary cut some of his cloak into strips with Quel'Delar, and used them to tie feathers onto the tips of Kai's wing-fingers.

Alysrazor shrieked and prepared for another attack run, and several druids of flame arrived to help her. A pair of firehawks dropped their eggs down into the battlefield, which were already in the process of hatching.

"Ash, James, get on those! Keep whatever comes out busy until we're done with Alysrazor!" Gary shouted. "Fliers, you keep her busy, everyone else heal or deal with the druids!"

Kai took to the sky and started clawing at the giant firehawk, roaring and clashing with her in the air while Pidge, Thisalee, and Aeroth harassed her. On the ground, James and Ash led two large firehawk hatchlings in circles, doing their best to avoid being eaten. Jessie and Gary fought fire with fire as they battled it out with the flame druids. Brock and Misty chased after their allies, doing their best to keep them healed.

One by one the druids fell, and the fighters turned their attention to the hatchlings. There was no way they could fight with those running around. Above them, Alysrazor left behind burning clouds and arcs of fire that could reignite the wings of her enemies to keep them aloft. She knew it was her downfall, but there was no way she could avoid it. She simply had to try to keep them out of it – mostly Kai. The others were little more than annoyances.

Vaporeon's water-based attacks were quick to douse the flames of the fire hatchlings, but even that took a while to kill them. Once they did fall, the heroes turned their attention on Alysrazor. It was too late, though, as she'd managed to keep Kai out of the fire arcs and he fell down, just barely able to slow himself reasonably with his wings.

"The skies are mine!" Alysrazor shrieked, conjuring up fire tornados.

The universal response was something along the lines of "Holy crap; run!" followed by frantically scampering about to avoid the insane number of fire storms. Neither side could keep at it forever – it all came down to who gave up first.

Ash tripped over a rock and scrambled to get out of the way of a fire storm, but Thisalee, with her burning wings, was able to grab him and drag him out of the way. In his armor, he was too heavy for her to carry into the sky here, but she was able to lift him onto his feet and pull him away. "Go, go, _go!_" she screamed at him.

Pidge let out a scream and blasted Alysrazor with an unidentifiable beam attack. Apparently, pokemon from the elemental planes had unusual moves as well as strange types. The beam was enough to stun Alysrazor and she dropped out of the sky, burnt out. The fire storms dissipated.

"Kill her! Kill her before she gets up!" Gary commanded. Some flame druids came in to revive their master, but Quel'Delar's Chosen would not have it. Thisalee and Ash slaughtered them, with their pokemon's help.

"Hurry, hurry!" James urged them. Gary stopped attacking and cast his time warp spell, allowing the others to finish off the firehawk before she could rise.

"Good god. That was more complicated than it needed to be," Kai muttered around the feathers in his mouth as he tore them off his wings.

"It was less complicated than it could have been. Good thinking, Thisalee," the shaman said.

XXX

The rogue had slipped through the corridors of Karazhan like one of its many ghosts, right past the dragon cultists that had taken up residence there, on his way to Nalice's chamber.

It was a creepy place. Somewhere, someone – possibly a ghost – was playing harpsichord music. It made Tracey think of Gilneas. The out-of-tune instrument beat out a mad waltz, hypnotizing and dreadful. Doors creaked. The dead moaned and whispered. Footsteps echoed where no-one trod. It had all been helpful to Tracey, of course, allowing him to slip by much easier. If anyone heard him, or caught a glimpse, they thought he was one of the many haunted spirits of the ancient wizard's tower, or a phantasm caused by the deep magic of that place.

It really was a good thing Gary wasn't there. Karazhan was often rumored to be the one Nexus that every Ley Line in Azeroth crossed. Naturally, the mage likely wouldn't have been able to handle it, even after exposure to the Well of Eternity. Even Tracey, a completely nonmagical person, could sense the magic, twisting about through halls and rooms that defied space and time. It was no wonder the dragoness had sought to make this her lair. It would make any villain proud to call it home, especially a magical one.

And there she was, fearsome and monstrous. Tracey readied his daggers, poisoned them.

"I can smell you, you know," Nalice said suddenly. She turned to face him, eyes red like blood. "You must be an assassin. How did you get in here? Did the little whelpling send you?" Tracey didn't answer her, but simply stood ready to react. "Come then, little rogue. Let's dance!" The dragoness sprang into action, the rogue sprinted around to flank her, and the fight began.


	97. BOOM HEADSHOT!

_Author's note: I pretty much ignored the mechanics of the Staghelm fight in favor of writing a more dynamic scene. And Nalice, too. I didn't think the in game fight was dramatic enough – difficult and intense, but not nearly as interesting in writing. So I reworked that fight too._

"How did you get this far?" Staghelm asked, clearly shocked and confused. "You should have all been burnt to cinders ages ago."

"We're Quel'Delar's Chosen. We're much tougher than that," Ash said. "Stop running from us, Staghelm. We've taken out all your underlings. Now it's your turn."

"Yeah. We're tired, we want to wrap this up and go home, so if you'd just come over here and let us chop your head off, we'd really appreciate it. You'll be dead when we leave anyway, so might as well make it quick, right?" Gary said. He was joking, of course, but a part of him, deep down, really hoped Staghelm would take him up on that and make everyone's lives easier.

Fandral stopped for a moment, trying to come up with a good response, but he couldn't. So he simply told them "Never!" and shifted into the shape of a magma scorpion. Aside from Misty, who was involuntarily shuddering, most of the adventurers just let out a long sigh. Things could never be easy or quick.

Brock called his onix out for this fight. "Crush him, onix!" Brock ordered. The rock snake pokemon rumbled forward, and Staghelm hissed.

"Hydro pump, vaporeon!" Misty ordered. "This druid of the flame needs to understand the power of water! And maybe we can get him to shift out of creepy-bug-form."

The scorpion backed away as onix lunged at it, and it struck back with a lava sting. Brock's pokemon flinched back and shook its head, a molten puncture wound in its rocky hide. The fiery bug fizzled and hissed as a torrent of water slammed into it and went up in steam.

"Now!" James shouted, starting his attack. The team fell upon their foe immediately, launching spells and arrows at the now-brittle shell of the fire scorpion, cracking it.

Fandral decided this wasn't working. He needed to be able to _move!_ The druid shifted again, this time into a flaming lion. He let out a powerful roar that forced everyone around him to take a step back, and then he started running. He leapt at Misty – he knew a healer when he saw one. The girl held up her shield and blocked his claws as they tumbled to the floor. The paladin summoned a hammer of light in her hand and smashed it into Fandral's head as he raised a claw to kill her. The cat was stunned, giving Gary a chance to throw a pyroblast at him, knocking him off his prey.

Staghelm picked himself up and shook his mane. A blast of ice hit him, followed by a bolt of lightning. Onix swung its head like a wrecking ball, sending Staghelm flying. He crashed into a rock, but dug his claws in to keep from falling. Then he launched himself back at the pokemon, and latched on. The rock snake tried to shake him off but he clawed and clung, snarling viciously. A pair of arrows embedded themselves in his shoulder, causing him to slip, and onix tossed him skyward.

Once again, the flame druid shifted, this time into a fire hawk.

"Aw come on, we _just did this!_" Gary complained. "At least keep things new and interesting!" He tossed an ice lance at the fire hawk. Much smaller than Alysrazor, Staghelm was more affected by ice, and dropped lower in the air. James and Brock backed the mage with similar spells, forcing Fandral back down. He simply turned back into a cat and dropped, claws first, toward the ground.

The lion landed with a resounding thud, and the ground under him shuddered and rippled in a shockwave, knocking everyone present off their feet. Pikachu was the first to get back up, and it unloaded a nasty shock into the druid. Ash was paying too much attention to his pokemon to notice that Starwisp shimmered and faded out of sight like a particularly good chameleon.

Fandral charged toward the pokemon, but it used its agility to move out of the way. Staghelm skidded to a halt and turned to face the team again. He didn't notice that the huntress was missing. "You fools know not what you face!"

"Neither do you," a female voice just over his shoulder said. He turned his head to look, and his eyes widened for a moment as the hunter's camouflage faded away to reveal an arrow tip pointed right between his eyes. It was the last thing Staghelm ever saw.

XXX

The dragoness's arcane shield protected her from all damage as magic darted through the air, but the rogue didn't let it slow him down. He was running on full adrenaline and his reaction time was quick enough that he could sprint between the dozens of explosions in the room toward the pillars Nalice was channeling the spell through.

Tracey jumped and kicked the purple crystal at the top, shattering it, and in the same motion bounced off the wall behind it. He fell to the ground but instead of simply slamming into the floor the rogue rolled to lessen the impact. He sprung up to his feet and took off running again, dodging arcane bombs. He shot the other crystal out with his crossbow as he avoided a purple explosion.

Nalice snorted in frustration as her shield fell. Tracey had already transitioned into a flanking attack, sinking his knives into her hip. She stomped and he fell off, but managed to land on his feet. The dragoness roared furiously as she tried to hit him with her claws. The rogue dodged the first attack, and took the second one as a glancing blow, digging only an inch or so into his arm.

She breathed fire at him, but he dived under her and avoided the attack. She sidestepped and stomped near him, and he stumbled as he tried to get out of the way. The dragoness was distracted as Tracey's scyther latched onto the side of her head and tore a gash across her face.

She tossed her head, and the old pokemon lost its grip. She snapped, trying to catch it midair with her jaws, but only got a razor sharp blade to the gums for her effort. She then swung her tail just in time to catch Tracey, who crashed against the wall. She swatted at the scyther, but it dodged the attack, so she tried to roast it with her fire breath. It fled, taking minor burns as it escaped.

The rogue sheathed one knife and took a running start, then jumped at the dragoness. He kicked off her shoulder and slashed across her face with one dagger, spinning all the way around before landing on his feet and one hand. Then he pulled out the second dagger.

"No! No, it won't end this way!" Nalice roared in a panic. "I just need more time!"

Tracey interrupted her spell by throwing one knife at her. It struck her in the chest. She gasped and then unleashed more fire at him. The assassin ran, throwing his other dagger at her face. The dragoness leaned to the side, and the knife sailed past.

"You are unarmed, rogue! This ends now!"

"Not quite," Tracey growled, stopping and aiming his crossbow. The dragoness opened her mouth to breathe another bout of flame, but the bolt that struck her between the eyes dropped her. Tracey recovered his daggers and finished her off, before uncorking a vial and collecting some of the dark blood oozing from the dead dragoness's wounds.


	98. By Fire Be Purged

"Let's get this over with," Gary said, resting Quel'Delar on his shoulder as he trudged up to the platform in the lava lake, where they would have their battle with Ragnaros, the Firelord. "This fight has gone on far too long." The young mage lifted the sword and pointed it at the lava pool. "Ragnaros! Show yourself, fiend!" he shouted.

The ground rumbled and the lava sputtered. Quel'Delar's Chosen stared intently at the fiery pool. Their final elemental adversary lay within! The end of their journey was drawing closer, and for once they felt like they were so close to being done that the light at the end of the tunnel felt real.

The Firelord erupted from the lava lake. "You dare trespass into _my_ domain? Your arrogance will be purged in living flame, fools!"

"Go on! Burn away my sins! Let me be reborn in fire! I will only rise stronger for it!" the mage replied, the memory of his recently surfaced dark side still burning in his mind.

"You will learn, foolish little insect! Face the wrath of Ragnaros!"

The other heroes said not a word as they charged into combat again, bitter, grumpy, and generally tired of the whole thing. The pokemon were all unleashed, including Onix. Brock figured that it could help Ash and James shield the party from this massive monster.

Feathers ripped from Pidge's wings allowed Aeroth to soar in the fiery realm, along with Thisalee. Kai stayed groundbound and fought alongside Absol, striking at Ragnaros's back as he struggled with Onix; the pokemon was suffering from molten wounds, oozing melted rock.

"Ash, James! Horsemen switch!" Gary shouted.

"You got it!" Ash replied, telling Brock's onix to move back. Like their long-ago fight in Naxxramas, they would have to rotate their meat-shields. No challenge for Quel'Delar's Chosen, even if it seemed suicidal. The Kantoan heroes worked together like a well-oiled machine, especially under Gary's command. They trusted one another, listened to one another.

_How far we've come,_ Gary thought, a smile coming to his face despite the circumstances. He and Ash had once been enemies, hardly able to be in the same room without fighting, let alone working well together, but now they were two cogs in the war-machine, willing to listen to one another. More than that, they were _friends, _willing to sacrifice everything for each other_._ Together, they – and all their friends! – could achieve far more than any mortal could ever dream to do alone. Azeroth, he realized, had changed more than just their personalities. It had, for all the hell it had thrown at them, created unforgettable memories, and forged bonds unbreakable. Perhaps that was why, despite the safety and familiarity of Kanto, a part of them had always longed to return to Azeroth.

Yes, war was hell, but the bonds it forged, the adventure it promised, fulfilled fantasies and filled voids in their hearts. That was why Quel'Delar's Chosen could always be counted upon. And Gary knew, that even when this adventure was over, the warriors of Kanto would always be ready to rise up again when the world – no, worlds, plural, for they were a part of both – needed them most. They could not resist the call to arms.

Why this sudden chain of thought had occurred to him, he wasn't sure, but it restored his will to fight, raised his morale, and injected new energy into his fight, just the way he had fought on the battlefield in Icecrown, not a tired and homesick veteran, but a young and strong hero, a legend in his time.

So Gary let out a rallying cry he hadn't used in a very long time, to kindle the memories of all they'd been through together: "_Anar'alah belore! Selama ashal'anore – selama Kantu'anore!_" Granted, he'd made that last part up, and it probably wasn't quite grammatically correct, but the others could figure out from the sound of it and from knowing the preceding phrase exactly what Gary was trying to say: _Justice for Kanto._

As was so common, and so comforting to them, Ash answered Gary's Thalassian battlecry with his own Orcish shout: "_Lok'tar ogar! Lok'tar Kanto!_"

Battle shouts spread through the ranks of Quel'Delar's Chosen. Their journey neared its end, they could already taste triumph! After this fight, all that would be left would be to acquire the Dragon Soul and slay the beast who had led them onward for so long, once and for all. But for now, there was one more battle to win.

Spells flew, pokemon attacks hit for all their worth, birds circled, Kai clawed, the healers kept watch and maintained the strength of the three heroic damage-takers as they switched off to keep Ragnaros busy.

"Why won't you die? Pathetic mortals!" the Firelord shouted, raising his hammer. He smashed it into the ground where Brock had been standing, but the shaman rushed out of the way and retaliated with a lightning bolt. Lava waves poured out from the hammer, but the adventurers simply avoided it.

"Because, we are Quel'Delar's Chosen! We do not die! We do not surrender! We stand together, we fight together, and we will die together – but not today!" Misty said.

Ragnaros dove down into the lava, as Gary commented: "Okay, I now want to use that as our official motto."

"Fire elementals!" Starwisp shouted. "They don't seem to be charging at us – so whatever else they're doing, it must be bad! Don't let them get near the Firelord; we don't know what they'll do and we don't want to know!"

The elf had been able to warn her friends far enough ahead of time that they were able to form an arc, facing outward, and mow down the additional enemies before they could get near Ragnaros's pit. As the last one fell, Quel'Delar's Chosen turned back to their primary target, as he rose up out of the lava.

"Enough! I will finish this!" Ragnaros roared. He cast a spell and several balls of fire appeared – one at the feet of every raider. They had no idea what the things did, but in general, magic things – especially fire – were bad to stand in. Apparently, other mortals Ragnaros had faced hadn't quite grasped this, because he grew frustrated when Quel'Delar's Chosen simply moved out of his attacks. The fire orbs swelled.

"Uh oh," Jessie said. "Everyone get over here! Hurry!" The entire group fell in around her, huddling in a tight group, and not a moment too soon. The fire orbs exploded.

"_How are you still alive?!_" the Firelord howled. "No matter. Minions, aid me!" He dove back into the lava. Once again, elementals swarmed the area.

"Come back and fight, you coward!" James yelled after the Elemental Lord.

"Looks like they've got two big elementals," Thisalee called down. "Ash, why don't you handle those? The rest of us can take down the little ones!"

Ash grinned. She'd called him by his first name again. "You bet!" He stood forward, away from the group, waiting for the big elementals. As soon as they attacked, he started leading them away from the main group, while they continued to fend off their foes. Soon they were channeling ice into Ragnaros's pit, forcing him back up to fight. Onix was able to keep him occupied for quite some time, so Ash didn't have to worry about being able to take the pressure off the pokemon just yet. He could finish off these elementals.

"_**That's it! Fall to your knees, mortals! This ends now!**_" the Firelord snarled. He surrounded them with fire all along the back edge of the platform, so they were sandwiched between him and a literal firewall. Then he began to call down meteors.

At first, Quel'Delar's Chosen just worked around them, but things became increasingly difficult. Gary remembered how the Ancients had helped them before. _Malorne, help us! Now, we need you!_

And his prayer was answered.

XXX

"Ah, you've returned! I no longer sense Nalice's presence. Is she dead? Or has she somehow eluded us both?" Wrathion grinned at the sight of Tracey. The boy was quickly becoming the dragon's favorite mortal. The grin only broadened when Tracey held up the vial of dragon's blood, though the rogue refused to make eye contact. He didn't enjoy his job.

Wrathion took the vial. "You are, indeed, a master of your craft. Few assassins would be clever enough to infiltrate Nalice's wards and use her own defenses against her, even fewer strong and quick enough to slay a fully grown dragoness with only a pet for backup. You continue to impress me, Mr. Sketchit. It is time I rewarded you for your efforts." He dropped the shadow gems Tracey had brought him earlier into the vial, causing it to boil. "Give me your daggers," he commanded, at the rogue reluctantly gave them up. He had a feeling he'd like them even less after Wrathion was done. A thick smoke covered the table as though someone had just unboxed dry ice as Wrathion poured the blood over the blades. When it cleared, Tracey could get a good look at his new weapons.

He wished he couldn't. Cracks had appeared all along the blade, where rifts of something like lava could be seen – like the cracks in Deathwing's armor. The metal seemed to wiggle a bit, as though it were alive, and it had taken on an ugly red hue. But what disturbed Tracey most was that the creepy eyes were now open partially, glowing yellow and _staring at him._ He hated them! He wanted nothing more than to get rid of them! But he couldn't. Not yet.

"Alright," he said, "what now?"

"Now?" Wrathion said. He chuckled darkly. "Now, we kill my father. I suggest that you wait for your allies. No lone assassin can take on Deathwing. But you will certainly be instrumental in the battle that will come. It has been an honor and a pleasure working with you, Tracey Sketchit. When the deed is done, bring me a piece of my father's armor, and I will craft for you a reward that will match your truly legendary status."

XXX

The white stag appeared behind the heroes, practically glowing in the fire's light, as he walked straight through the wall of flames.

"_Im- Impossible!_" Ragnaros stammered.

Malorne simply stamped his foot on the ground. A shockwave ran through the stone, and when it reached the lava pool, the lava solidified into obsidian, and spiraled up Ragnaros's torso, entrapping him in stone.

A massive pyroblast formed in Gary's hands. With a wordless shout, the young mage unleashed his spell. _My fire is stronger than yours!_ Ragnaros tried to retaliate, but Gary warped the flow of time to allow a second pyroblast, then a third, in rapid succession. It was hard, channeling two spells at once, but he did it. By god, he did it!

"_No! Too... soon!_" the Firelord cried, as his flames flickered and dissipated. A gem clattered to the obsidian floor, and Gary picked it up. It was the shiniest, most beautiful fire stone he'd ever seen, pure and bright. Faint blue fairy lights danced around it, blue like the bottom of a gas-flame. "The hottest flames burn blue…" he muttered.

Then, a smile spread across his face. Gary turned to his companions and held the last of the four gems high for them to see, and a cheer ran through the group.


	99. The Soul of Kanto

"Well done, heroes," Nozdormu praised. "The amulets have returned at last."

Gary, Misty, Ash, and Brock presented their amulets, with the gems now securely in place, one at a time, placing them on the floor in front of the dragon.

"The Amulet of Strength, empowered by a thunderstone, blessed by Ysera. The Amulet of Desire, empowered by a water stone, blessed by Alexstrasza. The Amulet of Passion, empowered by a fire stone, blessed by Malygos. The Amulet of Patience, empowered by a leaf stone, blessed by myself. Why, you wonder, would we bless the amulets that do not correspond to our natural elements and colors?" Nozdormu smiled. "It was at my recommendation, you see. I knew you would someday come to hold these powers, heroes, and that your elements would not match the domains of your leading Aspects. Gary, the magical one, would be aligned to fire. Ash, the one who dreams of a better world, would be aligned to thunder and sky. Brock, the patient one, would be aligned to earth and stone. Misty, the one who protects life, would be aligned to water. I knew this thousands of years before you were ever born. And I planned accordingly."

"So what's next?" Brock asked.

"Now, we will create the replacement Dragon Soul. To do this, we must travel to your world. The untapped energy of that place is essential to my plan. We will go to the Orange Islands, to seek the Guardians at the Shamouti Nexus. The beginning of Deathwing's end has arrived. But first… we should wait a few moments. Your ally is about to arrive."

While the passage of time was difficult to track in the caverns, Nozdormu was correct. It felt like no more than five minutes had passed when a drake arrived, carrying Tracey on his back. The rogue gladly greeted his friends, happy to be back with them. The Dragon Aspect let the heroes climb onto his back as his drakes wove a portal, and Misty explained the situation to Tracey.

XXX

Nozdormu landed at the Shamouti Island Shrine as the light of morning started to color the sky, and the worgen shifted back to his human form. Nozdormu let the heroes off his back. "Now… it is time. You may want to cover your ears," he advised. Once the adventurers did as he asked, he took a deep breath, and let out a powerful roar that carried across the islands. Moments later, Quel'Delar's Chosen saw three birds rising from the islands, and a few minutes after that, a whirlpool started to form in the ocean. The sun peeked out over the volcano on Fire Island, causing Nozdormu's bronze scales to gleam brilliantly like polished metal. He was almost painful to look at, so brightly did he shine.

The three Legendary Birds soared toward the shrine, and the whirlpool gained strength. Moments later, Lugia burst forth, causing seawater to rain down in a glittering stream in the morning light.

The four of them landed before Nozdormu and bowed deeply to the Aspect of Time.

"Sea-Keeper," Nozdormu said, nodding at Lugia.

"Timeless One," the great pokemon replied.

"We gather here, as servants of the Titans," the Bronze Aspect said, "to forge an artifact of power. To craft the Second Soul; the Soul of Kanto. Creating such a relic is not without its drawbacks. What power is given will never be given back. Those who bind their power to the Soul are bound also to each other. This Soul will restore the powers lost to the first, and as such, I cannot give my strength to it. The power that it restores must come from elsewhere. That, my friends, is where you come in. That is why we have gathered, why we have recovered the Amulets, why we built the Shrine in the first place."

"So it is time," Zapdos said.

"At long last, our destiny is to be fulfilled," Articuno agreed.

"Heroes," Nozdormu addressed Quel'Delar's Chosen, "I give you one last chance to back out. But be warned – if you do not go through with this ritual at your own cost, the whole world will end in shadow."

Quel'Delar's Chosen nodded. They were ready to sacrifice for Kanto and Azeroth.

"In truth, only four Aspects gave their strength to the Dragon Soul. Neltharion tricked them and never gave his essence. That is why there are only four amulets, only four birds, and only four chosen Amulet Keepers. However, a fifth element will amplify the Soul's power against Deathwing, though it won't have the same strength as the others. In place of an amulet, we can use a dragon scale. Kai?" The Aspect looked at the drake expectantly.

"M-me? But I'm just a drake. I have no power."

"You have far more power than you know. What's more, you embody the opposite of what Deathwing is. You are a noble black dragon capable of resisting corruption. Your essence would be anathema to him."

"Very well, Timeless One," the drake said, bowing his head.

"Are we ready, then?" Moltres asked.

"What are we going to do?" Ash asked.

"Each of the Guardians will channel their essence through the Amulets, and each Keeper must give their blood and speak the ritual words. The Guardians will sacrifice a portion of their Titan-given power, and drain the strength of the Amulets. This was their original purpose. As for the fifth Keeper to channel with Kai's scale…" Nozdormu looked at the rogue. "Tracey, you have no power Amulet of your own to wield, but you complete this group. Would you like to stand in as the fifth Keeper? It won't come free – you will pay a price in both blood and spirit. You will be bound to the other four forever, and to the spirit of Kanto itself."

"I-I… uh…" the rogue glanced over at his allies, who all looked expectantly at him. "I'd be honored… It's a sacrifice I'll gladly make for my homeworld." Kai turned and used his teeth to rip a scale from his hip. He ignored the pain and dropped the shiny black scale into Tracey's hands. He used a piece of string from his storage plane to fasten it into a makeshift necklace like the amulets.

"Do you know the ritual words, Gary?" Nozdormu asked.

"I've dreamed the words," the mage replied.

"Then you may lead the formation of the Soul of Kanto. Stand in a circle now, and follow the mage's lead. Gary, remind them of what their amulets say." The Dragon Aspect pulled a golden disk from another plane – or perhaps another time – and lowered it to the center of the shrine, where it balanced on a small stone pillar.

Gary, Misty, Tracey, Brock, and Ash stood in a circle at the center of the shrine, and the Guardians – and Kai – took their places standing behind them. The five heroes linked hands at Gary's instruction, and the ritual began.

"By the essence of flame and magic, granted to me by the Guardian Moltres, I, Gary Oak, forever bind my spirit to the Soul of Kanto. I now sacrifice the Amulet of Passion to this cause for the Blue Dragonflight, keepers of magic – for the hottest flames burn blue."

Misty simply copied his format. "By the essence of water and life, granted to me by the Guardian Articuno, I, Misty Waterflower, forever bind my spirit to the Soul of Kanto. I now sacrifice the Amulet of Desire to this cause for the Red Dragonflight, keepers of life – for water is the source of all life."

Tracey had to wing it for certain portions of his speech, but he was able to come up with something reasonable. "By the essence of the dragons, granted to me by Kai, I, Tracey Sketchit, forever bind my spirit to the Soul of Kanto. I now sacrifice this bloodied scale to this cause for the Black Dragonflight, keepers of the earth – for their redemption must come through blood."

"By the essence of earth and time, granted to me by the Guardian Lugia, I, Brock Harrison, forever bind my spirit to the Soul of Kanto. I now sacrifice the Amulet of Patience to this cause for the Bronze Dragonflight, keepers of eternity – for even solid stone bends to time."

"By the essence of air and dreams, granted to me by the Guardian Zapdos, I, Ash Ketchum, forever bind my spirit to the Soul of Kanto. I now sacrifice the Amulet of Strength to this cause for the Green Dragonflight, keepers of the Emerald Dream – for to dream is to reach for the sky."

Gary let go of his friends hands, and drew Quel'Delar. "I pledge this, on this blood." He cut his right hand with the sword and let five drops of blood fall onto the Soul of Kanto. The others looked surprised, but each drew a weapon – or a beast's tooth from a necklace, in Brock's case – and repeated Gary's words and actions.

The next words he spoke sent a chill down Gary's spine. "It is done. All have given that which must be given. I now seal the Soul of Kanto forever." The metal disk began to glow brightly, forcing the heroes to shield their eyes until the glow faded.

"At long last," Lugia said. "We have fulfilled our ancient purpose. Heroes, we can aid you no further. We, the Guardians, wish you the best of luck. Farewell, Chosen Ones."

Nozdormu smiled. "Now, all that remains is to retrieve the first soul. You may want to come up with elven names and perhaps some backstory – you're going undercover as night elves at the Sundering of the Well of Eternity."


	100. The Art of Making Shit Up

_Author's Note: Yes, night elves can have black hair. It's just not available to players. There's a night elf NPC in the badlands who has black hair, if you need proof._

"I'll see if I can craft workable cover identities for us," Starwisp said. "But what about appearances?"

"We bronze dragons have perfected the art of using illusions to change the apparent race of mortals. There are some limits, of course – such as changing the appearance of armor and the like," Nozdormu said. "This is easily worked around by providing you with more appropriate garb."

The Aspect continued to watch over them. He knew where they would go with their ideas, but as always, he felt it was best to let them reach their conclusions naturally. It was not the Bronzeflight's place to intervene with their Titan-granted knowledge unless absolutely necessary.

"The first thing we need to come up with is class, since half of the things we do wouldn't work in the time we're going to," Gary pointed out. "I assume we'll be disguising ourselves as Highborne, in which case Brock, Jessie, and James can all claim to be mages like me."

"So uh, am I gonna be a rogue or what?" Thisalee asked. "Women couldn't be druids back then." Gary and Starwisp nodded. "Alright. What about Waterflower then?"

"I guess she could be a priestess of Elune?" Gary said hesitantly. It was a bit of a stretch. "Wait, how are we going to disguise the pokemon?"

"Can we make Meowth look like one of those tiger things the elves keep?" Jessie suggested.

"A nightsaber cub, then. Alright," Thisalee said. "Maybe the rest of them – maybe we should just leave them out of this?"

Meanwhile Starwisp was scribbling something on a piece of parchment with an owl feather. "I think I have something mapped out for us. I've tried to create as many connections as possible to keep us from being split up for whatever reason. It was fairly easy considering the Highborne tendency toward arranged marriages. The hard part was giving us all names that we'll be able to remember."

"Well, go ahead," Brock told her.

"Your name is Brightleaf Stormcaller. You're paired off with me – that's extremely awkward to say." The huntress tied her hair back and pulled some ink from the plane of storage to make some simple false tattoos, since she, already being a night elf, wouldn't be getting an illusion cast on her.

"Can't complain about that arrangement," the shaman said quietly.

The elf continued. "Ash, Gary, you two are twin brothers – Ashanar and Zeriel. I'm your elder sister. We're all part of the Greyfeather family." She looked to Jessie and James. "You two are paired off and have taken us under your wings. Your names are Jarol and Kayla Proudglaive. Misty, you're paired off with Gary, obviously. Your name is Malira Moonwing. Tracey, you're her brother, Terresiel. Thisalee, you're paired off with Ash and your new family name is Ravencloud. We're all from the made up city of Androth'aran. Any other details can be made up as we need them."

Ash was still wondering how he was going to get Pikachu to fit in with Ancient Kalimdorian culture. "Pikachu," he asked, "would you be willing to stay behind, here in the Caverns of Time?" The pokemon looked up at its master as though he was trying to abandon it. "I promise I'll come back. There's just no way to get you in without being noticed. There's nothing we could possibly disguise you as."

The pokemon flattened its ears against its head and hesitantly nodded.

"Okay," the warrior replied. "I'll miss ya, buddy. I'll be back as soon as possible."

Nozdormu finally spoke again. "With that decided, we can get you your costumes and illusions, now. Come."

XXX

The heroes looked one another over. While they looked dramatically different, they could still recognize one another. They still resembled their normal selves, despite the odd hair and skin colors, foot-long ears and ridiculously long eyebrows. Most of them had silver eyes like Starwisp, except Brock, who had amber eyes like Thisalee.

Gary had brushed his hair back. It was surprisingly long when it wasn't sticking out at odd angles, coming down to the level of his chin. It was the same deep blue as Starwisp's hair, but his skin was a much darker and more purple.

Tracey's elf form was pale indigo with teal hair, and otherwise nothing special to look at. Brock's elven guise was notable for still having thin eyes, but not to the extent that his human form did. His odd skin tone was best described as pale and slightly corroded bronze, contrasting with vivid green hair. He had traded his leather robe for a simple brown tunic and pants.

Ash's elven form wasn't all that different from his normal form. The pale burgundy skin wasn't too far off from Starwisp's pinkish skin, which was as close as Night elves got to any human skin tone. What was surprising was that he still had black hair – extremely uncommon among night elves.

James also looked strikingly similar to his human form. His hair was a much darker shade of purple, and his skin was simply a greyer version of Starwisp's skin tone. He didn't even need to change his hairstyle, though he was now decked out in an indigo wizard robe.

On the other hand, some of the adventurers looked very different. Jessie probably showed the most dramatic change. She had lilac skin, and her hair, now out of its usual tight curl, cascaded down her back in the most unexpected color: sea-foam white. Like most night elves, she had a facial tattoo – pale blue lines like moss hanging from a fallen log underlined her eyes.

Last, there was Misty. The dragons had done a good job making her look like a priestess, and she was a sight to behold. She had pearly blue skin and her loose hair was – what else? – cerulean blue. The same shade was used to mark glaive-like shapes across her eyes. She had traded her paladin armor for a silvery dress decorated with pearls and mithril ornaments, like the single shiny crescent moon affixed to a small tiara in her hair. She could definitely look the part of a priestess of Elune. Naturally, the mage gawked at her.

Unfortunately, so did Ash, mostly because of his fondness for elves. Thisalee promptly punched him in the shoulder and he immediately stopped.

"Are we ready to go, then?" Kai asked, before a fight could start.

"Yeah, looks like it," the mage replied. "Alright, let's go get that artifact! We're almost done!"


	101. Broken Will

"One last thing," the Aspect said. "Gary, give me your sword. We can't have a recognizable artifact like that going back in time. It won't cause any problems in the time you're going to, but it will ripple up the timestream. Tyrande and Malfurion would recognize you at the first time you met them because they were at the Well of Eternity. Use this staff instead; I will keep Quel'Delar safe."

Gary reluctantly handed over his weapon, took the dragon's staff, and with that, the group was ready to leave. As they went, a final enchantment was placed upon them to speak and understand Darnassian.

The heroes warped in through the time portal to Pre-Sundering Azeroth. Illidan Stormrage stealthily sabotaged demonic portals, and that was a good thing. The heroes had never seen so many demons in once place before, even during their time in Outland. There was a never-ending stream of demons marching shoulder-to-shoulder.

"This is not your problem to worry about," Nozdormu told the adventurers. "You are to deal with Queen Azshara herself, and the demon Mannoroth. Be warned – the Light of Lights will charm you. Be prepared to deal with her tricks. I can go no further. I will wait for you in the Caverns of Time." The Dragon Aspect then vanished.

Gary wasn't paying any attention. His focus was elsewhere. He didn't even tell the group to follow him. At the first chance he simply ran up a glass spiral ramp around a stone tower, wrapped in vines – a strange mixture of the stone Highborne ruins of Vashj'ir and the organic buildings of Ashenvale and Teldrassil. The others had no choice but to follow.

"Wait!" Misty called out, but Gary wasn't listening. He'd almost instantly been drawn into the power of the Well like an alcoholic being offered free vodka. He kneeled at the edge of the ramp and nearly fell over _into_ the Well of Eternity leaning toward it, completely entranced. It was not glorious or beautiful like the Sunwell or the Well at Hyjal. No, this was a swirling vortex of black and fel-green energy, sickly and demonic. Green energy crackled up from the center, and the forest around it was blackened, burning, full of an ugly fel-green haze.

"So… much… _power! I-I could be all-mighty! It must be-_" Misty slapped him so hard he fell over.

"Get a hold of yourself!"

James was actively restraining Jessie and silencing her spells as she tried to siphon energy up from the Well. She just laughed like a madwoman.

This was far worse than the initial exposure to the Well at Hyjal. That had produced a euphoric high in the casters – annoying but ultimately harmless. _This_ was inducing _mad desperation._ The spellcasters had completely lost their minds to the power of the Well, in a heartbeat.

"Control yourself, G-" Misty had to stop herself from blurting his true name. "_Zeriel!_" She smacked the mage over and over but he only struggled against her, his full attention on the Well of Eternity.

"You don't know what you're missing! You don't understand! The power, it must be mine! Don't you see what I could do with this power? _I could do anything I damn well please! __**Anything!**_"

"You'll go _absolutely mad,_ too! Do you want to end up like-" The paladin was going to say Kael'Thas Sunstrider, or the Wretched, or Deathwing, but none of those were known here. "Like _them?!_" she continued vaguely, letting Gary fill in the blank with whatever fallen magic-users he pleased.

"_Stop!_" James commanded, silencing another of Jessie's attempts to siphon the fel magic of the Well. He grabbed her and hissed into her ear. "Do you want to be like Cassidy? Selling out your last few shreds of soul for fleeting power? Restrain yourself!" Jessie seemed to come back to her senses, though the gleam in her eyes looked _completely insane, _like the separation from the magical well was physically torturing her.

Gary was having more trouble. The stronger someone's magic, the more addicted to the arcane they were. Gary's problem was far, far worse than Jessie's.

"Come on, you're stronger than this; please listen to me! Stop!" the paladin begged.

"Can't you feel it, though?! It's practically calling for me! It wants me to channel its power! Think of the things I could-" Gary protested, never once taking his eyes off the swirling waters.

"Things you _won't_ do because you'll be either dead or laughing mad! It's a horrible trap! Do not fall for it! It's not calling for you, it's _baiting you!_"

"B-baiting. You're right. You're right." Gary shook his head violently. "We need to get out of here fast. I don't know how long I can resist…!"

The heroes rushed up the ramp, slaughtering whatever stood in their way. They had to be fast about this. Elves and demonic eyeballs like the one Jessie had used in Deepholm fell before them easily. They were no challenge.

When they reached the top of the stairs, they found themselves on a circular platform. The outside edge was the same elaborately decorated glass as the ramp, with the same low bronze rail – if it could even be called a rail – but the center was marble and obsidian richly decorated with gold and bronze vines and flowers. In the very center was a purple tent, and before it stood six elf mages – two in blue, two in purple, two in orange – channeling something into the Well.

The adventurers marched out onto the platform, ready to fight the six mages. Suddenly, a voice interrupted them, a voice so pleasant to hear, it was like silk turned sound.

"Ah, are you here to join us for the celebrations?"

The heroes paused. What should they say? Play along, say yes? Say no and kill these elves? Their hesitation cost them.

"No? A pity. I have no time for such diversions. Keepers of Eternity, will you stand for your beloved Queen?"

"I have prayed that the Light of a Thousand Moons would grant me this honor!" one of the mages in purple said. He and a blue mage rushed out to fight. The others looked as though they would have followed, but the voice told them she thought two would be enough, and the other four should continue channeling their spells.

"Riders! Come aid your Queen!" the voice called out. Elves riding on shadowbats soared down, but Kai took flight and fought against them, keeping them from interfering with the fighting below.

The purple mage cast an arcane bomb out onto the platform – a glowing ball of light that would soon explode. Then he began to channel an arcane storm, hurting everyone in the area. The blue mage was more aggressive, throwing a line of blue fire onto the ground before charging at Jessie with an icy sword in hand.

"Nightsaber, attack!" Starwisp commanded, looking at Meowth. He understood he was to act the part, so he ran forward on all fours, pounced, and started clawing viciously at the blue mage while trying to sound as convincingly like a tiger cub as he could. Starwisp tried to come up with a name different enough to not arouse suspicion in the future but still get her bird to obey. "Arok! Strike the arcane magus!" The owl hooted and dove shrieking at the elf.

"Slay their beastmaster!" the voice from the tent commanded.

"Yes, my Queen!" the elves responded in unison. The blue mage slashed Meowth with the ice blade and cast a frost bolt at Starwisp, which Ash intercepted. Gary responded by throwing a fireball at his enemy magus.

"Warrior, come here," the voice beckoned. Ash stopped for a moment and looked confused. What warrior? "Yes, you. Come here…" It was such a beautiful voice, he couldn't help but pay attention.

"Ash-…anar! Don't listen to her!" Misty called out. He couldn't help it, though. He walked over to the tent obediently, and he could see through the thin purple fabric, a being rising from a throne and stepping forward. Thin blue fingers adorned with gold rings reached out, and then opened the tent up. Ash could not have prepared to see what he did – the Light of Lights, the Flower of Life, the Vision of Perfection, in the flesh! He had been entranced by a mere statue of her in Vashj'ir, which could not accurately capture her stunning beauty.

She was tall, taller than Starwisp, and slender, with a figure enhanced by a silver corset. A white mooncloth skirt draped around long, smooth, pale blue legs – and revealed them, with a slit running up one side all the way to the hip. Her breasts were barely covered by two strapless mooncloth 'wings' modeled after those of a swan, and not connected to the corset at all, with a glowing pink gem between them that called even more attention to her cleavage. The outfit, really, must have had magic holding it on, because there was no way it could keep from falling off or slipping without actively defying physics. Her face was, just as legend told, the most beautiful face Azeroth had ever known; flawlessly smooth, with golden eyes and long, elegant ears. Silver hair cascaded down her shoulders and back. Ash didn't stand a chance.

She reached out touch his shoulder for just a moment. It was all she needed to do. "Poor, misguided thing. How can you turn against your Queen? It's not too late to redeem yourself, you know. I only ask that you defend your Vision of Perfection."

"Of course," he replied instantly. He immediately turned against his allies. "For Azshara!"

The Queen grinned darkly and retreated into her tent.

The blue mage was sent flying and smashed into the ground. James was mimicking his fighting style – clearly dependent on frost magic, but aggressive with a blade. He raised the blade to kill the mage, when Ash crashed into him, attacking like a mad dog.

"What are you doing?! I'm on your side!" the death knight snapped as the two tumbled to the floor. He kicked Ash off of him.

"My Queen demands your death!"

James cursed a few times, realizing what had happened. "Thisalee!" he shouted. "Help!"

The druidess rushed over, tackling Ash and pinning him to the ground. "Snap out of it!" She hissed in his ear. "Ash! You're not that weak-willed! I know you're tough! Snap out of it!" He struggled against her but she stared into his eyes, and eventually he came to his senses.

Misty struck one of the mages down with bright white light, and Starwisp shot the other through the heart. He fell over backwards off the edge of the platform.

"Still these strangers oppose your Queen's will! Who will stop them?" Azshara called from inside her tent. Another two magi came to her aid.

"The Flower of Life calls upon us! We must not fail!" This time, instead of a frost mage, a fire mage stepped up with an arcane companion.

The battle raged on. A shadowbat and its rider smashed into the platform next to Tracey. He jumped to the side, opening himself for an attack by the fire mage. Jessie cast an immolation on the mage, and ran to avoid an arcane bomb. A fire bomb exploded near Brock, knocking him backwards. He tumbled to the ground near the tent. A smooth, warm hand grabbed his arm and lifted him to his feet. He looked over his shoulder. Azshara didn't even need to say anything to captivate him. His weakness for beautiful women was his downfall in this situation. The Queen merely pointed to the fighting, and he rushed in, glad to serve her.

Grabbing him by the ear obviously wouldn't work in this situation, so Misty opted for something a little more forceful – a hammer of light. _Light, Elune, guide me,_ she thought. He frost shocked her, but she stood strong through the attack and sent him sprawling to the floor with a powerful blow.

Azshara watched the fighting with bored irritation. There was one, though, among the rebels, that caught her attention; a very powerful sorcerer. He could be useful. She continued to watch, her gold eyes fixed on that one adventurer with keen curiosity.

Gary smacked his staff into the arcane mage's head. The arcane storm stopped immediately as the boy sent a frost lance through the stunned mage's throat. The other fire mage tried to use a blast wave to throw him off the platform, but he blinked back. The rogue kicked the magus in the lower back, sending him crashing to the ground. He blinked away before he could be killed, but James killed him with a frost spell.

"I beseech of you, my beloved subjects, put an end to these miscreants!" Azshara said, now sounding very irritated. The last two – another frost mage and a second fire mage – joined the fray. Gary started casting a pyroblast.

"No," Azshara whispered, "not that one." She cast a spell to drag him over to the tent, which he fought against. She stopped when he was on his hands and knees in front of the tent. As he started to get up, she rose and stepped out into his view. He looked up at her like a deer in the headlights of an oncoming truck. Thinking her charm was working – and for the moment, it was – she helped him to his feet. "Poor thing. Look what they have you doing. You could be so much more…" She brushed some dust off his shoulder while he stared at her, seemingly spellbound. "Yes, you could serve me, your Queen, personally. So many men would die for a chance to do my bidding, to have my favor…" She stroked his cheek.

At that point her charm failed her, as Gary jerked away and punched her in the gut. She yelped and stepped back, more in shock than in pain.

"So bold of you, to strike a Queen. You're brave, I see." She grinned seductively. "I like that."

"Go screw yourself," Gary spat.

Azshara's grin faded instantly. "Yes, very, _very_ bold. Ambitious." She could see that traditional seduction wouldn't work on Gary. But she also knew that every man had his price – it was just a matter of determining what currency to use. "I can see you're like me," she said, "you have no care for carnal matters. What you desire is _power_." Gary froze momentarily. It wasn't much, but it was enough to confirm the Queen's suspicions. This man may be immune to her charm, but he was easily seduced with promises of knowledge and power. Azshara feigned excitement and wove her lies with ease. "Ah, yes! You seek fame and respect! You're above the masses, so easily seduced by beauty. You are truly better than the low masses; so much promise within you! I've always wanted a son. You could be a Prince, you know. The Crown Prince of this entire mighty empire. You'd have access to all the libraries in the land and power over every man, woman, and child." Gary was paying full attention. "I'd have my best archmages instruct you in their arts – all of their secrets could be yours!" She frowned and looked at the fighting pointedly. "If your… _companions_ don't interfere with the creation of this new world order. You stand in the way of a perfect world ruled solely by night elves – by me! Tell me, little one, would you rather destroy that glorious future, or rule with me as my son and Prince? It's your choice to make…"

Gary was shaking, mind racing. All the secrets of the highborne, his! He would be the most powerful mage in the world, and a Prince to boot! _Prince Gary._ All he had to do was – no. He thought of Misty. He'd have to kill her. Immediately two sides of himself began quarrelling. One side said she was the most important thing to him. The other side snapped that the power he was being offered was worth more than her pitiful life. Then he thought of the future of the world, and what scared him, deep down, was that he immediately dismissed it. He didn't care if Deathwing ruined the world. He would be happily living in the past as the Prince of the greatest Empire the world had ever known! Then it hit him. No, he wouldn't. This was the day of the Sundering. The Empire would no longer exist. He'd made up his mind, but only because he realized the power he was being promised wasn't real. If it was, he would honestly have been torn. That was something to be troubled over later.

He threw a fireball at the Queen, who blocked the spell. She looked offended and surprised. "Fine! Die with your precious rebels!" She knocked him backwards with a blast of arcane energy.

What they didn't realize is that while they were distracted by each other, the fight had pretty much come to an end. Ash killed the last of Azshara's mages and the whole team surrounded the Queen.

"I don't have time for this! I have more pressing matters to attend to. Riders! To me!" She cast a spell on Kai and he smashed into the platform. Her shadowbat riders came to her side and she climbed onto one of the flying creatures. The group flew away, protected from all attacks by the Queen's magic shield.


	102. Soul Stealer

Starwisp rushed to the fallen dragon's side. "Kai!" She knelt next to him and moved to check for a pulse, but didn't have to. He let out a moan of pain. Misty started healing him, and at the same time, a flash of light went off behind her. She turned to look; there were several bronze drakes there.

"Ah, there they are," a female drake said. "Heroes, quickly, come with us! We have been sent by Nozdormu. We must get you to the Dragon Soul!"

Kai got back to his feet and shook his neck as though his spine had gone stiff in the time he was down. Starwisp climbed on his back, and the rest climbed onto the bronze drakes. As the dragons took flight the heroes, for the first time, got a clear view of what was going on, with no fighting to distract them. The beam of power from the Well of Eternity was linked to the Dragon Soul, floating high above the swirling green water. Demons swarmed the area and dragons of every color – except black, notably – wheeled about in the sky.

"The Aspects!" another drake said, announcing the arrival of Ysera, Alexstrasza, and Soridormi – Nozdormu's mate. Nozdormu had kept out of this conflict for a reason. As he had said, he'd had the plan to replace the Dragon Soul for a _very, very_ long time.

"Come," Alexstrasza said to the other dragons, "it is time to end this. We will cleanse the Dragon Soul of the Old Gods' dark influence." They began to channel magic into it, but it reacted violently, knocking them all back.

"It is too powerful!" Ysera exclaimed.

"How _dare_ you touch my creation?!" a new voice roared – Neltharion, still whole, not the fragmented monster that was Deathwing. He lacked the elementium plates he would one day rely upon to keep him in one piece, and his flesh was unbroken. "It is mine! _Mine! __**Mine!**_" He flew toward the Dragon Soul as tendrils of dark energy flowed out of it into him.

"Neltharion, what have you done?!" Alexstrasza screamed. "You've doomed us all to the madness of the Old Gods!"

"_It is mine!_" the Black Aspect roared. His flesh began to split as the Soul corrupted him.

"He is lost to us," Ysera said sadly. "He is Neltharion no longer."

"The power of the Soul is tearing him apart!" the Dragon Queen lamented, as she watched in horror.

A terrible voice suddenly shouted from below. "_No! Away!_"

"_I will not be denied!_" Neltharion roared.

"_**Away!**_" the voice bellowed again.

"The Old Gods protect the Soul," one of the bronze drakes explained. "We must sever the link between the Soul and the Well! Quickly, to Stormrage!"

The dragons flew down to the edge of the well, but were attacked by shadowbats. Kai managed to evade his attacker, but the bronze drakes were not so lucky. Their riders fell, with only Gary's slow fall to protect them, and the drakes either perished or slipped into some other time.

The heroes found themselves near Illidan, Malfurion, and Tyrande.

"Can you close the portal, brother?" Illidan asked.

"It is being maintained by the will of a powerful demon, Mannoroth. I cannot break his will alone."

Illidan looked over at the newly arrived adventurers. "Are you here to help?" Ash nodded. "Very well. We will break his will for you, Malfurion."

"We haven't got much time before the forest is crawling with his demons," Tyrande pointed out.

"Let them come," Illidan said.

"Mother Moon, guide us through this darkness," the priestess said.

Then, the demons came, en masse. With the blessing of Elune and the guidance of the Stormrages, the adventurers were able to mow them down with ease. The unstoppable force of Quel'Delar's Chosen pressed onward through the forest. They were too busy fighting to notice Gary's reaction to being so close to the Well of Eternity. He was enjoying killing the demons far too much, going absolutely mad with power.

Finally, they reached Mannoroth, the pit lord. The gigantic demon was an ugly creature, green, built like an overweight centaur with the lower body of a winged kodo. His face was flat and reptilian, with mammoth-like tusks. He had a night elf by his side – the leader of the riders who rescued the Queen.

"Varo'then, see that I am not disrupted by this rabble," the demon said.

"Highguard, to arms! For your Queen! For Azshara!" the elf shouted.

Gary started cackling madly. "You idiots! You stand _no chance_ against the power _I_ wield!"

His own allies looked more panicked than his enemies. Gary was slipping again. The question was, should they disrupt him and try to beat some sense into him, or should they take advantage of his current state and unleash his full force on their enemies?

Misty intervened. Yes, Gary could effectively be used as a nuclear bomb against the demons in this state, but he could also be permanently corrupted if allowed to channel too much of the power of the Well.

Illidan charged at Mannoroth. "I'll keep him occupied!"

_Elune, Light, Aessina, help me,_ Misty thought. She then hit Gary as hard as she could with holy magic, and prayed that what she was doing would not kill him. It did _nothing._

"Tyrande! One of our mages is succumbing to the power of the Well!" Starwisp cried out.

"Hold off the demons, and I'll try to bring him back to his senses!" the priestess replied. So Quel'Delar's Chosen did, fanning out to slaughter the incoming demons while Tyrande focused everything she had on breaking the evil hold of the Well.

Gary was completely ignoring all this in favor of duking it out with Varo'then, laughing insanely. Suddenly, Tyrande was able to overcome the power of the Well and bring the mage back to his senses.

"Wh-what was I doing? I was…" he muttered, almost sounding afraid of himself. "I was completely insane…" He backed away from Varo'then, who was still trying to kill him. Now that he was no longer channeling the Well's energy, he was significantly weaker. "We need to hurry!" he urged his fellow adventurers.

"I'll hold off the demons now! You fight Varo'then!" Tyrande ordered. Like a school of fish changes direction all at once, Quel'Delar's Chosen shifted to their new target in a single motion, as though they were all of a single mind. The elf was a fierce fighter, but he could not hold off all of the adventurers for long. A single sword could not parry blows from all directions at once. Nobody was even sure who had landed the killing blow.

"Lights of lights! I have failed you. I am sorry, my Azshara…" Varo'then's sword dropped to the ground. Ash grabbed it and threw it at Mannoroth with a wordless shout. The magic blade pierced the demon's armor. Burning felblood poured out of the wound.

"Stand by me!" Illidan said. "I'll do my best to protect you from the flames!"

"Lord Sargeras, I will not fail you! Sweep your molten fist through this world so that it may be reborn in flames and darkness!" Mannoroth opened a portal and demons began to pour out. Starwisp joined Tyrande in fighting them off while the rest of the group attacked the pit lord. The dragons in the sky above continued to fight and squabble.

The battle was closely matched. Mannoroth was holding up fairly well against the adventurers. He stomped and smashed and spewed felfire, and the heroes returned the favor with fire, ice, and steel.

"Yes… yes! I can feel his burning eyes upon me; he is close… so close. And then your world will be unmade, your lives as nothing!" the pit lord roared. Infernals began to drop out of the sky, overwhelming Tyrande, who finally collapsed to her hands and knees.

All hope seemed lost, but Illidan had other ideas. "You are not the sole wielder of Sargeras' power, Mannoroth! Behold!"

"Illidan, you mustn't!" Tyrande screamed.

"I will be the savior of our people! _I will __**fulfill my destiny!**_"

"_Illidan, no!_"

A black cloud engulfed Illidan and he took a demonic form similar to his appearance in the future, winged and horned, monstrous. "Revos ill ok mordanas archim maz naztheros! Archim xi ante maz-re mishun le nagas!"

A surge of power flowed through the adventurers, who all attacked at once. It was enough to break Mannoroth's will to hold the portal in the Well open. Misty got the Soul of Kanto ready to swap with the Dragon Soul, but how would she reach it all the way out in the middle of the Well?

"Malfurion has done it! The link is severed!" Tyrande shouted in triumph.

"No… no! This victory will not be ripped from my grasp! I will not return to him in failure! I will not be torn from this pitiful world! No! _**No!**_" Mannoroth roared as the portal began to drag him back whence he came. The Dragon Soul dangled in the air, then dropped.

Time seemed to slow for the adventurers, who watched helplessly. Suddenly, Misty felt the Soul of Kanto being snatched out of her hand. Toristrasza had leapt up and snatched it in her teeth. The whelp darted up a rock, jumped to the limb of a tree, climbed up, ran along a branch, and then flung herself out over the Well, spreading her wings wide.

"_Tori!_" the paladin screamed.

Much to her shock, the whelp did not drop like a stone, but soared out over the Well of Eternity. She _had _to fly. Everyone was counting on her. She didn't really grasp what the consequences of her actions were, or why she was doing it, but she knew she had to do it. Because Misty needed her to.

And so she did. As the Dragon Soul neared the center of the Well, Tori crossed its path, letting go of the false Soul. She snapped at the Dragon Soul and missed, but managed to snag the chain on which it dangled with her claw. She wobbled as she tried to turn – she'd barely been able to fly, let alone steer, and instead crashed into the opposite shore of the Well, just as Mannoroth was sucked into the closing portal.

At that point, Malfurion saw the tumbling artifact and used some obscure magic to yank it toward him. Nobody but Quel'Delar's Chosen knew that it was fake. Jessie and Gary sensed the disruption in the Ley Lines. The Great Sundering would soon occur, and they had to get out of the way, fast. They all ran off before the priestess and the Stormrages could thank them.

They met up with Toristrasza and Nozdormu in the forest. Tori was gripping the chain of the Dragon Soul in her mouth. She'd only had it for a minute, possibly less, but her resistance to its corruptive effects as a mere whelp was a testament to her strength of heart, and the results of being raised by a paladin.

"Good! Hurry, now," the Bronze Aspect said, with what was as close to 'urgency' as he would ever get. "Into the time portal before the world shatters!" He ushered the heroes through a portal and followed immediately after.


	103. I Call Hax!

"Good job, Tori!" Misty praised, gingerly taking the Dragon Soul from her. She wasn't sure what this thing would do.

Nozdormu smiled. "I knew you would perform well. Now… it is time. The Twilight's Hammer have assaulted Wyrmrest Temple. The other Aspects and Thrall are defending it as we speak. The dragons at the Temple have been able to hold off the assault, but Deathwing himself is ready to attack. _You_ must stop him." He undid the enchantments of illusion and returned the heroes' armor and weapons while Starwisp let her hair down and wiped away the false tattoos.

Once the group was back together, spirits soared. So long they had fought, so weary they were, but now they prepared for the final battle. The end was in sight.

"We are Quel'Delar's Chosen!" Gary said, holding the sword high. "We do not die! We do not surrender! We stand together, we fight together, and someday we will die together – but that day is not today!" The rest of the team cheered. "Now _let's go slay that dragon!_"

Nozdormu opened a portal, and all of them went through to the Wyrmrest Temple.

The heroes didn't expect to see what they did, as they stepped onto the top platform of the Temple. A massive twilight dragon circled the area. Drakes and dragons of all colors fought in the sky. The Aspects stood in their humanoid forms, channeling magic to help the defenders. And of course, Deathwing flew around nearby, rather preoccupied by a very tough Alliance airship.

What particularly surprised them was a small, yellowish beast flying around with someone on its back, zipping around the twilight dragon and generally harassing it – a dragonite. Not just any dragonite, either, as its rider was none other than Lance. How he'd gotten to Wyrmrest Temple was a mystery, but he was there, and he was fighting valiantly. The elvish sword sliced a thousand times into purple flesh, none doing much in particular, but the Champion was willing to fight until he dropped dead from exhaustion. He'd fight until he ran out of places to stab his foe, and then he'd still fight. It was his duty to protect Kanto, it was his duty to protect the sacred dragon temple, and he was living his fantasy.

"Quel'Delar's Chosen are here!" someone shouted. The adventurers were really getting used to hearing that. Kai confirmed their arrival by letting out a powerful roar to boost morale.

The twilight dragon, Ultraxion, snapped at Lance's dragonite, who easily evaded the attack, diving down far out of his reach. Quel'Delar's Chosen backed him up, launching a volley of spells and arrows at the monster.

Ultraxion, already weakened, backed up a bit to examine his new foes. This gave Lance a chance to catch him off guard.

"Dragonite! Hyper beam! Aim for the head!" A brilliant beam of light struck Ultraxion. The dragon spun around to look in the direction the attack came from, which was exactly what Lance was counting on. He plunged the elvish sword deep between the dragon's eyes. Ultraxion dropped out of the sky and landed with a crash in the snowy landscape far below. Cheers erupted as Lance's dragonite swooped in and landed, rider holding his sword high in triumph.

"The Dragon Soul has arrived!" Alexstrasza exclaimed. "Quickly, heroes! So we may end this! Give it to Thrall!"

The paladin presented the artifact to the orc, who nodded at her. Steely determination hardened his face, and he looked to where Deathwing was circling. He closed his eyes and held up the Dragon Soul, focusing its power. The Aspects focused with him, and it began to glow. The glow took the general shape of a dragon and launched at Deathwing like a missile. It slammed into his shoulder and his shriek pierced the air as elementium plates cascaded in a rain of shrapnel and molten blood.

With an expression that could only be read as 'what the hell just happened', Deathwing turned and fled.

"Do not let him escape!" Kalecgos shouted. The airship swung in close and lowered a bridge onto the temple ledge. The Aspects got on board, followed by Quel'Delar's Chosen. Lance followed suit.

"Must say I'm surprised to see you here," Starwisp said to him.

"Can't really say the same to you, night elf. I knew you heroes would show up eventually. But honestly, I couldn't miss this. My conscience wouldn't let me. With the Cultists driven out of Kanto, I had to make sure they'd never come back. I _have_ to do everything in my power to protect my world. That's what it means to be a Champion."

"Well, if you're willing to come with us, we're more than happy to work with you," Ash said. Lance nodded.

"Follow me," Ysera said, leading the heroes down into the bomb bay. "We need you to remove some of his armor so we can hit his weak spot. You're going to slow fall down onto his back, and do anything in your power to get the elementium plates off." Quel'Delar's Chosen nodded.

The airship maneuvered into place above Deathwing. There was a conspicuous patch of flesh with several molten wounds in it, where Thrall had knocked the plate off. Gary cast slow fall on Quel'Delar's Chosen and Lance, and they then leapt out of the opening meant originally for a bomb. In a sense, it was dropping a very powerful bomb – just not in a traditional shape.

Every heart was racing, every body pumped full of adrenaline, as the adventurers fell slowly onto the dragon's back while he flew desperately toward the Maelstrom. Gary quickly assessed the situation. Where bolts had once held the plate in place, there were gaping holes. Deathwing's Old God corrupted blood took on a life of its own, forming ugly tentacles of magma and god-knows-what-else.

"They're smothering my healing power, I can feel it already," Misty said. "First order of business is to take out those tentacles!"

"Alright, attack order is as follows: top right, bottom right, bottom left, top left. Everyone focus on one at a time, and spread out. It'll be harder for Deathwing to feel us if we're all over the place," Gary ordered.

"_Lok'tar ogar!_" Ash shouted, drawing his weapons and charging. The tentacles looked viscous enough to be harmed by a blade.

"_Anar'alah belore!_"

"_For the Light!_"

The heroes unleashed their pokemon. Kai and Thisalee took to the sky, circling above and diving down to strike at the tentacles at will.

"The Blackflight will be redeemed!" Kai roared.

Tracey joined Ash in attacking Deathwing's corrupted essence. His blades, still disturbing as hell, hissed and twisted upon contact with the blood, but they did seem to be extremely effective against it. Misty joined in the attack. Her healing was so dampened by the tentacles that there was little she could do to keep her friends alive. The best thing for her to do was to help get the obstruction out of the way as quickly as possible. She stood back, throwing judgements and exorcisms at the unholy mess. Gary unloaded a pyroblast, followed by a fire blast and a scorch. Vaporeon used a hydro pump attack. Jessie threw a chaos bolt, and James followed up with a death coil. Scyther leapt up and spun, allowing both of its blades to slice into the tentacle in quick succession. Pikachu blasted it with lightning. Brock cast a frost shock. Thisalee threw herself beak-first into the tentacle like a feathery dart. Lance hacked and slashed with the blood elven sword like he'd been using it his whole life.

The tentacle tore out of its socket and fell away. Globules of burning blood started to ooze from the wound, and a horrible elemental _thing_ crawled out.

"Don't worry," Ash said. "I'll handle this thing! You guys take out the other tentacles!"

Without a word, the others moved on to their next target. James swung his runeblade at the swaying construct of blood. Jessie cast a shadowbolt. Meowth loosed an arcane arrow into it. Absol clawed at it, despite the burns it inflicted. A frostfire bolt smashed into the tentacle, followed immediately by a moonfire spell as Thisalee temporarily took her humanoid form and then shifted back to catch up.

"Hurry, hurry! I can't heal with these things around!" Misty urged. Pidge, the fiery pokemon, swooped over her head, and shifted temporarily into a shape like a meteor, smashing through the tentacle, before returning to its normal pidgeotto-phoenix shape. A blow from Quel'Delar finished it off, and the group moved on to the third tentacle. Ash picked up the second elemental to hold at bay. Misty and Brock paused to heal him as well as they could with the two tentacles interfering with their spells.

Ash couldn't handle the monsters anymore. "We have to get these off somehow!" he shouted.

"Everyone, get close to me," Kai said. He landed on the side of Deathwing's back, and dug his claws in. Everyone huddled close. Now Neltharion could feel their weight, and tried to knock them off by rolling to the side. "Hang onto me!" the drake said. Deathwing tipped, and flew upside down! The elementals fell off. Kai let go, with everyone hanging onto him. Deathwing, thinking he'd knocked them off, returned to upright position, as Kai struggled to stay aloft with the extra weight. "Now let go!" he said, hovering over the Aspect. The heroes dropped back down, spread out. It had worked!

Kai and dragonite unleashed their flames on the third tentacle. Brock cast a lightning bolt at the twisting thing, and followed it up with a flame shock. If they could get this tentacle down, Misty would be able to heal through the next one. The rogue went into a quick frenzy, slicing and dicing to do as much damage as he could. Lance's dragonite used another hyper beam, finishing the tentacle off.

This time, Ash tried something new. He'd noticed when the monsters went through the globs of corrupted blood, they grew more powerful and more unstable. He drew it through as many as possible, then got it to follow him to the edge of Deathwing's next plate. Upon attacking it, he got it to explode, knocking the plate loose. Only a single piece of flesh and a weak rivet held it on.

"Forget the tentacle, attack that!" Misty said. "I can heal through this one tentacle. We haven't got time to deal with all of them!" The entire team's might fell upon that one link of flesh. It didn't last long, and the plate went flying off. They'd perfected the science of tearing plates off angry dragons. Now it was just a matter of repeating the maneuvers – clearing tentacles, getting Deathwing to roll again, leading the last elemental monster to the plate, and exploding it. Every plate went faster, until at last the fourth plate came off.

Thisalee went to the airship to tell them to get back under Deathwing. They quickly maneuvered into place, and the team slow fell off the mighty dragon's back. Once everyone was back on the airship, Thrall prepared to send one final blow to the monster that had terrorized Azeroth for so long. He aimed, letting the Dragon Soul form a beam that he used like a laser to perfect his aim. Then he let the power loose. The golden dragon pierced all the way through Deathwing's chest, out his back, and left a gaping hole through the middle of him. With a horrible shriek he fell, down, down, into the Maelstrom.

A mighty cheer went out.

"_We did it! We killed Deathwing! __**That's what I'm talking about!**_" Quel'Delar's Chosen were quick to celebrate. And then Gary saw, out of the corner of his eye, the Maelstrom glowing blood red.

"Uh, guys… Should that be happening?" He asked. Everyone looked.

Then, a pair of horns peeked up out of the water, followed by a battered, misshapen head and neck.

"_**You have got to be kidding me! **__We shot you through the chest with a freakin' magic laser cannon; how are you still alive?!_" Gary shouted at the top of his lungs, more angry than scared. "_Okay, now this shit is personal._ _**You're pissing me off, dragon!**_ _Everyone, come with me! We're going down there and we're putting that monster down, __**once and for all!**_"


	104. And Stay Down!

Quel'Delar's Chosen slow fell down toward the four large stone platforms around the Maelstrom. Thrall and the four Dragon Aspects followed. Deathwing was hanging on by these platforms, a misshapen, molten claw or rotten, tattered wing clinging desperately to each. He was falling apart, and struggling to hang on. If he lost his grip he would not be able to regain it.

"_You have accomplished nothing!_" Deathwing roared.

"You must hurry, and prevent him from fighting back as we prepare the Dragon Soul one last time!" Kalecgos said.

"We cannot channel our mightiest spells and evade Deathwing at the same time!" Alexstrasza said. "One of us will land at a time, to channel our power through the Soul. You must prevent Neltharion from interrupting us! Knocking his limb off the platform should be enough to accomplish this."

"We will do what we can to aid you," Thrall said. "I will use the element of air to allow you to travel between these platforms freely."

At this point, the falling heroes landed. The dragons hovered near the four platforms, ready to land as soon as the ground was clear of Deathwing's influence.

The first limb was one of the Black Aspect's arms. The Aspects empowered Quel'Delar's Chosen to fight against it, and they were able to quickly do a great deal of damage. Even when Deathwing's body, coming apart at the seams, produced a molten tentacle from the arm and used it to attack, they were able to easily destroy this mutated horror and clear the area of the living blood that followed its destruction.

"_I shall tear this world apart!_" Deathwing shouted, trying to finish the cataclysm.

Alexstrasza used her magic to destroy any new tentacles or blisters as they started to form, while the mortal heroes continued to whack away at the grossly twisted claw. Eventually it slipped, along with Deathwing's concentration.

"That was fast," Ysera commented, as she landed. She began to channel. "We are one step closer. The unknowable, transcendent power of the Emerald Dream, I now give unto the Dragon Soul!"

Quel'Delar's Chosen had moved on to the next platform, with Thrall's cyclones lifting them effortlessly over the chasm. They began to hack away at the next claw. This time, Deathwing would not ignore them. When they shifted their attention to the molten tentacle that inevitably sprouted off the monster's limb, Deathwing spat a bolt of elementium at the mortal heroes. Nozdormu intervened, capturing it in a time bubble to slow it down.

"Hurry, we need to destroy that before it hits!" Gary pointed out. He and Jessie began to bombard it with spells, while Meowth and Starwisp launched arcane arrows at it. Tracey joined in with his crossbow, as pikachu and vaporeon aided the attack. Dragonite landed the final attack that blew the bolt to pieces, shattered by the hyper beam.

Meanwhile the rest of the team avoided the spiny, molten tentacle as it bashed the platform randomly, and they tried to beat it down with everything they had. Everyone was on the offensive. The ranged attackers rejoined the assault, and transitioned smoothly into an area attack to destroy the living blood that followed. As they did this, those who could not effectively sustain damage in an area moved on to the claw. There were very few words spoken during this time. The whole team was so perfectly coordinated that communication was largely unnecessary. Every gear in the machine knew its exact place.

The destroyer had already started trying again, focusing on breaking the world. Nozdormu called out. "Hurry, heroes. In mere moments Deathwing's Cataclysm will complete what he began and end the world. Attack, now!" With his assistance, Gary was able to channel his time warp spell and fight at the same time. "_Hurry!_" Nozdormu urged. Then, the claw slipped. Deathwing snapped out of his trance again. "It is time! I will expend _everything_ to bind every thread here, now, around the Dragon Soul. What comes to pass _will __**never**__ be undone!_" the Bronze Aspect shouted, landing behind the heroes.

Now Deathwing was clinging to the world by his wings alone. He would not give up! Quel'Delar's Chosen charged to the next platform, and attacked the wing. The tentacle sprouted early on this one, and swatted Thisalee out of the air. She crashed into the ground and took her elf shape again. Ash pulled her out of the way as the tentacle slammed into the stone, narrowly missing her. James and Lance tried to keep the thing busy while Misty healed the fallen druid.

The tentacle went down, and the casters again cleared the area of blood. The heroes didn't even listen to what Deathwing was saying as he tried, yet again, to bring the final cataclysm. Kai blasted the wing with the most powerful flame breath he could muster, while the ranged attackers joined in. As soon as his fire breath was done, the melee fighters pounced. Swords and daggers shredded the wing and the single talon on it slipped out of place; down it went, taking Deathwing's spell with it, again.

"Excellent work!" Alexstrasza shouted. "The fire of my heart glows with a brilliant purity unmatched. Every spark of it I will channel into the Dragon Soul!"

"She can't burn away extra tentacles anymore," Thisalee pointed out as they moved to the last platform.

"Some of us need to be assigned to that problem then," Tracey said. "My daggers are suited to the job."

"The Holy Light will burn these impurities away," the paladin agreed.

"Dragonite, help them! Do as the paladin commands!" Lance ordered.

The final limb of Neltharion trembled with strain as it clung to the rocks. The tentacle already waved around nearby, and smacked at Starwisp, who evaded it with her hunter's reflexes. Lance came to her aid, much to her delight, but the sword was ripped from his grip and tossed away.

"Aeroth! Fetch!" Starwisp commanded. The owl dove after the blade and returned moments later, dropping it in front of the Champion.

"Well done," he said, waiting for an opportunity to attack again.

The attack continued, but Neltharion, in his desperation, tried the elementium bolt a second time. This time, with the mage's energy expended and Nozdormu busy, there was no way to slow it down.

"Look out!" Brock warned, as the whole group tried to get away from the incoming projectile. It smashed into the platform, engulfing it momentarily in flames. Misty cursed a few times as she frantically tried to heal everyone through it. The superheated rock continued to burn, but not enough to worry about it. There were more dangerous things at hand.

The pokemon finished off the tentacle and the group fell in on the wing. The casters cleared the blood one last time, while the few designated as tentacle-killers focused their attacks on the growths as they appeared.

"_Watch as your world comes to an end!_"

"Hurry!" Kalecgos urged!

Everyone used absolutely everything in their arsenal. The smallest potions, every spell they knew, anything that could power them up. Deathwing could not have prepared for this sudden increase in attacking power. His last limb slipped off.

"I will realign the flow of mana and fill the Dragon Soul with all my arcane might!" the Blue Aspect yelled, landing behind the heroes. It looked like they had won, but Deathwing had one last desperate plan. He threw himself forward at the nearest platform, trying to use his chest and chin to grip the stone where his tattered and disfigured limbs could not.

"_**No! I am Deathwing! The Destroyer! The End of All Things! The Inevitable! I am **__**The Cataclysm!**_" he roared.

Deathwing's face was right in front of them. There was no way Quel'Delar's Chosen could _not_ have attacked. He was making himself more of a target, so naturally they took aim.

"_Why won't you die?!_" Gary yelled, furiously. The whole team started channeling spells and swinging weapons, bashing the monster's face in. Kai clawed and smashed and tore, finally unleashing the full force of his rage. Lightning, fire, shadow, water, and any number of things pounded away at the scaly skin. Blades rent massive, molten gashes.

Gary, for one, had had enough. His eyes took on an orange glow as he channeled one last spell. This would do the trick, if nothing else. Flames whirled around him and gathered in his hands. He then unleashed the spell. Fire magic exploded all around him like a nuclear bomb had gone off – a small mushroom cloud even formed momentarily. Most of the blast was focused forward, right at Deathwing's face. It knocked him off the platform, and he fell back against another stony spire, then started to slip.

Thrall unleashed the power that had been building inside the Dragon Soul. A beam of blinding white light surged forward and struck Deathwing, engulfing him in pure light. A massive _boom_ sounded across the region, as the Destroyer exploded into a thousand pieces, which were sucked into the Maelstrom without dignity or regard. A small fragment of his metal jaw landed on the platform near the heroes.

A strange quietness fell over them. They weren't really sure what to expect, or what to do. Then, Gary broke the silence.

"_And __**stay **__down, you bastard!_"

Mixed laughter and cheers greeted the realization that they had done it. Deathwing was gone, once and for all. The end of the world had been averted.


	105. The End of Ends

"I can feel the elements awakening," Thrall said, as the Aspects, in their humanoid forms, gathered with the adventurers. "They are rejoicing. The cataclysm… is _over._"

Alexstrasza stepped forward, smiling sadly at Quel'Delar's Chosen. She looked very, very tired. "The champions who fought here have assured the survival of our worlds. But now, we must see it… with mortal eyes." The glow on her ruby eyes faded, much to the alarm of everyone watching. "We Dragon Aspects have fulfilled our ancient purpose – to prevent the Hour of Twilight – and our great power is expended." Ysera's eyes lost their glow, followed by Kalecgos's, then Nozdormu's. The Bronze dragon reached over to the leaking hourglass on his pauldron and let the last of the sand slip through his fingers. "Although our day draws to a close, today's victory belongs to _all_ who stood against the shadow." She turned to Quel'Delar's Chosen. "_You_ are the true guardians of Azeroth and Kanto, and the future of these worlds is in your hands. The Age of Mortals has begun."

"It has been the greatest honor fighting alongside you," Lance said, bowing respectfully to the Dragon Queen. Gary started to open a portal to Kanto for him. "I will inform the people of my world of our victory here. The crisis has at last come to an end. Dragonite, come." He paused before stepping into the portal. "And you. Quel'Delar's Chosen. On behalf of the Indigo League, and all people of our world, I thank you. Our fate would have been very different without your selflessness and bravery. The bonds you share with your pokemon, forged in war though they may have been, are the epitome of what all trainers try to achieve. Too many young trainers put emphasis on badges and trophies, and fail to see the more important virtues and experiences you have discovered. _You_ know what it means to be _true_ pokemon masters." Lance smiled as he and his pokemon faded into the portal.

"Bye, Lance," Starwisp whispered, smiling.

XXX

The whole team accompanied Tracey back to Wrathion, for his final meeting. He wanted nothing more to do with assassinations and trickery. Alexstrasza followed the group, hanging well behind. Nozdormu had told her before killing Deathwing that she should accompany the heroes, and that she would know why when it was time.

Wrathion sat impatiently on a wooden chair, tapping his foot and looking agitated. When he saw the adventurers, he sprang to his feet. "_My god! Tracey; you survived!_" he exclaimed in utter shock. "I could feel that he was dead, but I was unsure if he'd taken you down with him." He grinned darkly. "I'm glad to see he has not."

Tracey just slammed the daggers and a metal tooth from Deathwing's jaw down on the table. "I've done what you asked," he said.

"Not quite." Wrathion performed a ritual with the fang and the daggers. They became even more horrific, twisted and squirming as though alive, and the eyes began to glow hateful orange. Tracey looked down at them in unconcealed disgust. "Champion, you have your reward. But there are two last dragons we need to slay." He turned to his assistant. "Fahrad, you've been better concealed than the rest."

"I have never concealed what I am, my Prince!" Fahrad protested.

"No. You're a black dragon." Wrathion then turned his glare on Kai. "And _you…_"

Kai looked shocked, as though he'd been slapped in the face. "Were it not for me, you wouldn't even be here!"

Wrathion nodded and clasped his hands together. "Indeed, I owe you my life. But you're still one of them. You're still corrupted. You're both still _corrupted_."

"That's not true!" Fahrad exclaimed. Kai just growled.

"Do you deny it? The dark visions? The voices in your head?"

"No. No! I'm in control of the voices. They're there to help me," the man explained frantically. Wrathion looked over at Kai.

"I can't even make out what the voices are saying," he growled. "They're just background noise and a horror in my nightmares. They do _not_ control me." He'd been in Outland for much of his life, after all. The whispers of the Old Gods could not reach him there. The corruption faded in the dragons of Blade's Edge.

Wrathion frowned and turned back to Fahrad. "And what are they telling you now, Fahrad? What do your dark masters whisper?"

"They… _they want me to kill you. Oh, why'd you have to go and make them angry?!_" He suddenly turned into a dragon and attacked, but Kai intervened. The stairway collapsed as the two black dragons smashed into it and struggled.

Flames spurted and caught a bannister on fire. Misty quickly sent her vaporeon out to prevent the manor from burning down, while the dragons struggled. It was over in a matter of minutes, with Kai successfully tearing Fahrad's throat out. He stood, breathing hard, completely unaware that Wrathion had picked up a knife and was standing right behind him.

The dragon boy moved to slit Kai's throat from behind – but unfortunately for him, Tracey was much faster. He felt an arm wrap around him to hold him still and a twisted dagger brush against his throat. He heard a familiar whisper to the side. "You know what I've learned from you? That 'uncorrupted' doesn't necessarily mean 'not evil'." Tracey looked over at Misty. "This is your call. Say the word, and the whelp's life is over. I don't' feel this is my decision to make."

The paladin was torn. Wrathion was a creepy bastard, and he'd just turned against Kai and tried to kill him. On the other hand, he was the Black Prince, and uncorrupted. Furthermore, he was just a whelp. Toristrasza whined. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she said, "Let him go, Tracey. But don't let him try any funny business."

"Wrathion," a voice said from behind them, "your work is done, child." Alexstrasza strode into the room. "You have destroyed all the black dragons of Azeroth. Leave those of Outland to heal and redeem themselves. Their corruption fades in time. You cannot hope to restore the Blackflight if you destroy them all. Kai has been a leader in redeeming your flight and is a shining example of what even the corrupted dragons can do to bring their kind back to the light. I have seen all I need to see. While your status as an uncorrupted dragon guarantees that you will someday come to lead the Blackflight, I can see that you are _not_ ready yet. Kai, corrupted as he may be, is far more qualified than you are for the time being. As Queen of the Dragons, I have made my decision. Until you are ready, Kai will take your place as the head of the blackflight."

"Wh-what?! I-I-! Y-your Majesty, I couldn't possibly-! I'm not-!" Kai stammered.

"You are far stronger than you think you are, Kai. You have gone above and beyond what anyone would expect you to do to redeem your flight. You have been willing to sacrifice everything for what you see as right. You have accomplished much in your relatively short life. You display bravery, wisdom, and a just heart. These are the qualities of a good leader. What's more, you have been a shining beacon to your kind. It is you who has been giving them hope for a better future. I do not know who started the uprising of Blade's Edge, but it is you who has kept it going. For these reasons and many more, I see fit to declare you at least a temporary leader of the Black Dragonflight."

Wrathion stared, slack-jawed, unable to _believe_ what was going on in front of him. Kai, on the other hand, was absolutely freaking out. Starwisp put her hands on his snout, and hugged his scaly face against hers. That seemed to calm him down.

"As for you, Tracey," the Dragon Queen said. "Nozdormu told me to bring this to you. The circle must be closed." She held out the Dragon Soul.

Instinctively, the rogue knew what to do. He took it outside, and smashed his new daggers into it. The essence of Deathwing in the daggers reacted violently to the Dragon Soul, destroying all three objects forever. "That's how it should be," he said. "They were all instruments of great power that needed to be made. But they were also things of great evil, and we should be glad to be rid of them."

"Now, we can go home," Gary said, smiling. His smile vanished when he realized what this meant. Everyone turned to Ash and Thisalee. _Poor Ash. He just has the worst luck._

The warrior and the druid were looking at the ground sadly. "Thanks… Thisalee. It's been an honor to fight with you," Ash said.

"You too… Ash." There was a long pause. "It's too bad your human life is so fleeting. You're one of those people who just won't last nearly as long as you should. World could use more of you."

He nodded sadly. He remembered Gary's warning against getting involved with an elf. He should have listened.

"Go on, you two," the mage said softly. They looked at him. "You deserve a goodbye kiss, at least. Go ahead."

"But-" Ash protested.

"You'll regret it if you don't."

Ash didn't get a choice. Thisalee decided for him. She forced him to turn toward her and gave him a heartfelt farewell kiss. "I'll never forget you, Ash. Thanks. For everything." She smiled genuinely, though tears welled up in her glowing eyes.

"Same to you, Thisalee," the warrior replied, also smiling and trying not to cry. But though it broke his heart, he didn't regret any of it. It was one of those experiences he would always be glad to remember, and he'd grown as a person because of it.

They hugged one last time, and then Thisalee turned into a bird to avoid crying, and flew away. "Farewell!"

Ash waved, smiling sadly.

"There is one more goodbye you may want to work out," Alexstrasza said. She looked at Misty and Toristrasza. "Do you want to take her back to your world?"

"I don't know," Misty said. "She would probably be better off growing up with dragons, wouldn't she? I want what's best for her…"

"I'm sure she would be fine growing up elsewhere." The Dragon Queen smiled. "Red dragons are life-warders. We are guardians. It would be an honor for one of our kind to watch over another world."

"I would like to keep her with me, then," the paladin replied.

"Then she is Azeroth's gift to your world. Toristrasza, the first of the Red Dragons of Kanto."

XXX

Quel'Delar's Chosen made one last stop in Ironforge, after returning the sword for which they were named to the blood elves of Silvermoon. Here, they returned their gear and picked up the clothing they'd come in, and prepared to leave.

Starwisp hugged her boys. "You two stay safe. Our worlds are irreversibly linked now. We have shared one story, woven together. This is not goodbye forever. You two can come visit me in Teldrassil whenever you like." She gave a night elf salute to the whole team. "It has been wonderful working with you again. I look forward to the next time our paths cross." Kai nodded in agreement.

Once more, the heroes of Kanto said their farewells to Azerothean friends, but this time, it was not so full of sorrow. This was a parting of ways, but it was not an end to their friendship, or their stories. Perhaps their adventure had come to a close, but their lives had not. Not yet. They still had their whole shining futures ahead of them.

_**The End**_

_Author's Note: Whew! It sure has been a long journey, hasn't it? As much fun as it's been, I'm glad it's finally reached its end. Between PMoA and BttF, this epic saga has spanned about 400,000 words,187 chapters, and nearly three and a half years (PMoA was published in June of 2009!). I didn't even intend it to go this far, but PMoA generated such a clamor for a sequel! So this time, before you even ask, and I know some of you will: no. It has been wonderful, but honestly, I'm tired. I'm done with this story. I feel it's time to move on to something new – in this case, Team Fortress 2._

_I would like to thank all of you for sticking with me so long, and I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I did. It's had its ups and downs but I hope it feels worth it. For those of you who were in it for the pokemon and/or WoW, and who will now part ways with me – farewell, my friends! It has been an absolute honor working with you – and I do feel I've been working with you, given all the feedback I've received over the years. For those of you who intend to keep following me in my next few writing adventures, thank you; I look forward to seeing you again soon! It will be great to have you along for the ride._

_In short, farewell, or see you again soon, depending on where you're going. May you continue to shine the light of your words on those who need it for years to come._


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